- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday (27) carried out a daring night operation by flying a transport aircraft into an unprepared runway in Sudan, where a fierce power struggle is currently underway between the country’s military and the paramilitary forces, to rescue 121 people.
The IAF landed its C-130J Hercules plane on the airstrip, which was in a degraded condition with zero navigational help which is required to guide an aircraft to land after sunset, NDTV reported.
Indian Air Force C-130 J Super Hercules on a remote airstrip in Sudan for evacuation of Indian Citizens pic.twitter.com/Y1u1agwK0H
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The plane landed on the airstrip in the north African nation’s Wadi Sayyidna to rescue those who had no means to reach the Port of Sudan to flee the violence that has killed more than 400 people and injured more than 4,000.
It was reported that the IAF pilots flying the rescue aircraft wore Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) to carry out a perfect landing in the dark. The air crew also used Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure there was no obstacle on the small runway as the plane approached the airstrip, which is located about 40 Kilometres north of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan and the epicenter of the violence.
The pilots kept the aircraft’s engines running and eight Garuda commandos from the IAF’s special force unit secured the passengers and ensured safe boarding of luggage. Those rescued also included a pregnant woman, it was reported.
The plane then took off as flawlessly as it landed as the pilots used NVGs. The entire mission lasted for two-and-half hours.
India has so far evacuated more than 1,300 of its nationals from Sudan under its ‘Operation Kaveri’ rescue mission.
