Fukche Advanced Landing Ground is an

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

in the

Demchok sector The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok, Ladakh, Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok, Ngari Prefecture, Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the gr ...

of the union territory of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

, India. It was built shortly before the 1962

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

and was revived in 2008. It is located adjacent to Koyul, 34 km northwest of Demchok.

Location

The Fukche Landing Ground is in the Koyul Lungpa river valley, close to the confluence of the river with the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

(called "Sengge Zangbo" locally). The Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, which runs along the Indus River, is only 2.5 kilometres away. Beyond the LAC is Chinese-controlled

up to the Chang La pass (also called Xingong La). There is a regular highway from Fukche to Dungti and beyond (leading to

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

and Chushul), and an unmetalled road to Demchok, 34 km southeast at the southern tip of the Indian-controlled Demchok sector. China runs a "Sengge Zangbo highway" adjacent to the LAC and a "Kigunaru highway" going to Chang La and beyond.

History

The landing ground was first prepared in 1961 in advance of the 1962

Sino-Indian war The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

. It was the sixth such landing ground to be prepared in Ladakh, starting with Leh in 1948 (which was in the midst of the First Kashmir War). According to a retired Army officer, "The Landing Grounds were built on grounds that were hard, barren and sandwiched between almost a range of parallel running mountains. At most places it was a question of removing boulders, filling potholes and generally leveling the ground. The good old infantry equipment of a pick axe, shovel and crow bar came in very handy." After the 1962

, the airstrip fell out of use. It was reopened on 4 November 2008 by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

, when an AN-32 transport aircraft was successfully landed there. Sujan Dutta
IAF lands on Ladakh strip
''The Telegraph'', 4 November 2008. The reactivation of the landing ground, along with another reactivation of the Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip earlier in May of the same year, allows Indian forces to deploy faster and in greater numbers, which China is believed to have taken as a threat. During the 2013 Depsang standoff, China demanded the bunkers being constructed at Fukche be stopped. But the Indians pointed out the constant upgrading of the Chinese infrastructure on their side of the LAC. In the end, the Chinese disengaged at Despang without insisting on concessions regarding Fukche.

Facilities

The airfield has an unpaved gravelly runway of 2 miles length. It accommodates small transport aircraft, meant for inducting or recycling troops at the border.

Road connectivity

"Chushul-Dungti-Fukche-Demchok Highway" (CDFD road), along the southern bank of

which marks the LAC, will be converted to a single-lane 7.45 m wide 135 km long national highway with paved shoulder. Chushul and Fukche Airstrips lie along this highway. It will also provide faster access to the Nyoma airbase.BRO starts process for 135-km road near LAC from Chushul to Demchok
News18, 24 Jan 2023. Road will be completed and commission by December 2025 (as of May 2025).India’s World-Class Border Infrastructure Development Along The LAC Accelerates Strategic Readiness
Free Press, 9 May 2025. "Likaru-Mig La-Fukche Road" (LMLF Road), through 19,400 ft Mig La, commencement of construction was announced by the BRO on 15 August 2023. After the completion, it will overtake the " Chisumle-Demchok Road" (via

Umling La Umling La or Umlung La is the highest paved road and mountain pass in the world, located in Ladakh, India, on the ridgeline between Koyul Lungpa and the Indus River near Demchok. At an elevation of , it forms the source for the Umlung stream t ...

, 19,300 ft) to become the highest motorable road in the world. Road via Umling La already passes at a height higher than the base camp of world's tallest mountain, the

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

References

Bibliography

External links

IAF's ALG
{{Indian Air Force Indian Air Force bases Airports in Ladakh Transport in Leh