Fukche Advanced Landing Ground is an

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) 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 pub ...

in the

Demchok sector The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the greater Sino-Indian border dispute between ...

of the union territory of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

, India. It was built shortly before the 1962

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

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 (called "Sengge Zangbo" locally). The

Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

(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 and

Chushul Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 m ...

), 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 took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

. 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 First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

). 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, when an

AN-32 The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Design and development The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...

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 Daulat Beg Oldi (also Oldie, DBO) is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh, India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and Central Asia, forming the last ca ...

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.Sujan Dutta
Delhi spies airstrip design in China tents
The Telegraph (India), 30 April 2013. During the

2013 Depsang standoff Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

, 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.

References

Bibliography

External links

IAF's ALG
{{Indian Air Force Indian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Ladakh Transport in Leh