An Indian Air Force IL-76MD heavy-lift transport aircraft has landed at the Mudh-Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh, in what the Air Force said is the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by this aircraft type anywhere in the world. The IAF announced the landing in a post on X on Saturday, November 7, and officials told Hindustan Times the touchdown took place on Friday, November 6.

Source: Indian Air Force via NewsPlainly

The airbase sits at 13,629 feet above sea level, according to the IAF's announcement as reported by Hindustan Times and Dainik Bhaskar; a PTI-based India Today report put the altitude at around 13,000 feet and The Tribune at about 13,700 feet. Nyoma lies roughly 23 to 25 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the reports said.

Source: NewsPlainly (reporting Hindustan Times, India Today, The Tribune)

13,629 ftAltitude of the Nyoma airbase where the IL-76MD landed, per the IAF announcement reported by Hindustan Times
23-25 kmApproximate distance of Nyoma from the Line of Actual Control with China, per reports
40 tonnesApproximate payload capacity of the IL-76MD 'Gajraj' heavy transport, per India Sentinels

The IL-76MD, known in IAF service as the Gajraj, is a Soviet-origin four-engine strategic airlifter that has served with the Indian Air Force since the mid-1980s and carries troops, vehicles and heavy cargo. Until now, Nyoma had mostly handled smaller transports such as the C-130J Super Hercules and the An-32, so a successful landing by the much heavier IL-76MD opens the base to heavier supply and equipment movement for forces deployed in eastern Ladakh.

Source: Defence Blog

A 1962 landing ground rebuilt into a frontline base

Nyoma began as an advanced landing ground during the 1962 war and then lay largely unused for decades. The IAF reactivated it on September 18, 2009, when an An-32 made the first fixed-wing landing there after the revival, and the Border Roads Organisation later upgraded it into a full airbase with a 2.7-kilometre runway. The then Air Chief, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, formally inaugurated the upgraded base in November 2025 by landing a C-130J there, making Nyoma the IAF's fourth base in Ladakh after Leh, Kargil and Thoise.

Source: India Sentinels

The IAF's post, as quoted in the reports, did not say what the aircraft carried or whether more such flights are planned. The service described the landing as a record for the IL-76MD type specifically — a claim about this aircraft, not about every aircraft or airfield in the world.

Source: NewsPlainly