In Daring Op, Air Force Pilots Use Night Vision Goggles To Land In Sudan

The Indian Air Force conducted a daring night operation by flying into an unprepared runway in the darkness to rescue 121 personnel from a small airstrip in violence-hit Sudan Thursday night.

The Indian Air Force landed its C-130J Hercules transport aircraft on an airstrip, which was in a degraded condition with no navigational approach aids or fuel and landing lights that are needed to guide an aircraft to land at night. 

The C-130J landed on an airstrip in Wadi Sayyidna in Sudan to rescue passengers who had no means to reach the Port Of Sudan. 

The Air Force pilots used Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) to carry out a flawless landing at night. While approaching the airstrip, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure there is no obstruction on the small runway, which is about 40 Km north of Khartoum, the said epicenter of violence in Sudan.

After ensuring the runway is clear, the daring pilots carried out a tactical approach. Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running. 

Eight Garuda commandos from Air Force’s special forces unit secured the passengers and ensured the safe boarding of luggage in the aircraft. 

Similar to the flawless landing on the blind airstrip, the take-off was also carried out using NVGs. 

The two and an hour operation between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah is similar to the one carried out in Kabul and is another testament to the air force’s sheer audacity to conduct daring operations during a humanitarian crisis.

Today, India brought 754 home under ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacute stranded Indians in Sudan. While 392 people were flown to Delhi in the C-17 transport aircraft by the air force, the remaining 362 Indians were brought to Bengaluru.

A total of 1,360 Indian have been brought back to India since the rescue operation began.

The fighting in Sudan is part of the ongoing clashes between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).