The Chinese, American and Russian air forces are all practicing hard.

According to the website of the German News TV channel, on June 5, eight US-made F/A-18C Hornet fighter jets of the Swiss Air Force practiced combat readiness takeoff and landing on a highway near an air force base in the country. This was the first such exercise in 33 years. In the training of the air forces of major countries such as China, the United States and Russia, highway takeoff and landing has become one of the "compulsory courses" for forging the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Since large military airports are strategic targets that cannot be concealed, they are easily targeted by the enemy during wartime. Therefore, since World War II, all countries have tried every means to improve the survivability and emergency dispatch efficiency of military aircraft. As one of the important means to preserve one's own air combat power, highway takeoff and landing has been used in the military field for a long time.

On June 5, 2024, Swiss Air Force F/A-18 fighter jets practiced taking off and landing on a highway. Photo/Swiss Air Force website

In 1932, Germany built a highway connecting Cologne and Bonn. In the following 10 years, the mileage of its newly built highways exceeded 3,000 kilometers. Due to the solid roadbed and few or no isolation belts along the way, these high-grade roads naturally have the ability to take off and land German piston fighters and bombers at the time.

In the late stage of World War II, domestic airports were frequently bombed and blockaded by the Allies. The German army began to set its sights on the highways and tried to convert some sections into temporary airports. Normally, planes were hidden in the woods beside the road. Once an emergency occurred, they could taxi onto the runway and take off quickly.

Although this move could not have a final impact on the war situation, this unique concept was absorbed and imitated by various countries, and with the evolution of air force skills and tactics, it was further developed in the jet age.

It should be noted that not all highways are suitable for military aircraft takeoffs and landings. Highways that can be used as combat runways must at least meet the following conditions: the relevant sections are far away from busy large airports to avoid overcrowding of the airspace. The construction standards of highways are similar to those of airport runways, such as high-quality asphalt or reinforced concrete pavement, high roadbed, strong load-bearing capacity, straight road length of more than 2,500 meters, wide road surface, good clearance conditions, especially no obstacles such as street lights and billboards on both sides of the road.

In addition, there must be enough space near the highway to deploy a large number of auxiliary equipment required for fighter maintenance, including mobile navigation and command towers, fuel supply vehicles, ammunition supply vehicles and other special service support vehicles.

Due to their limited land area and lack of strategic depth, in order to prevent their air forces from being destroyed in the first round of enemy air strikes, Nordic countries pay particular attention to road-based takeoff and landing fighters, and even consciously integrate them into their air force equipment development plans.

In the 1950s, when the Swedish company Saab was developing the J-35 "Dragon" supersonic jet fighter for its air force, the latter listed "the ability to take off and land on temporarily reinforced simple roads" as a rigid requirement for this type of fighter, thus opening the prelude to the Swedish Air Force's third generation of "road fighters." The subsequent JA-37 "Venger" and JAS-39 "Gripen" all continued this design idea.

As a veteran air force power, the United States not only attaches great importance to highway take-off and landing drills, but also elevates them to the level of strategic deterrence.

In 1984, NATO held a highway takeoff and landing exercise on the A29 highway in West Germany, involving various types of American military aircraft, including F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, A-10 attack aircraft, and C-130 transport aircraft, to test the air force base's response capabilities after an attack.

According to some data, at that time, there were nearly 30 highways in West Germany alone that could be converted into temporary airports within 24 hours. The common feature of these highways was that they had no street lights or electric poles, and all signs and guardrails were fixed with bolts for quick removal.

The Russian military's Su-34 simulated takeoff and landing drill on a highway. Photo/Russian Ministry of Defense website

In recent years, as relations with Russia have become increasingly tense, the United States and Western countries have been conducting more frequent highway takeoff and landing exercises. According to the U.S. website Aviationist, from March to September 2016, the United States, Sweden, Finland and other countries held at least four highway takeoff and landing exercises. The aircraft involved included U.S.-made F/A-18 fighters, A-10 attack aircraft, C-146A transport aircraft and Swedish Gripen fighters, and the takeoff and landing locations were chosen in Estonia and Finland, which border Russia.

Similarly, due to its vast territory and high air defense pressure, the Russian Aerospace Forces also attach great importance to the drills of this subject. According to the website of Russia Today TV, in 2018, the Russian Southern Military District conducted the first highway takeoff and landing drill of heavy fighters such as Su-34 and Su-30M2 in Rostov, a major city near eastern Ukraine, sending a clear warning signal to the West.

Russian media videos show that in order to increase the difficulty, the Russian army specially found an asphalt highway with a width of only 18 meters and tall trees and electric poles on both sides as the take-off and landing runway. It was winter at the time, and even unmelted snow could be seen on the roadside.

For the Su-34 and Su-30M2, which have a wingspan of nearly 15 meters and weigh 30 to 40 tons, such runway and weather conditions are quite harsh. However, the Russian fighters finally successfully completed training courses such as highway takeoff and touch-and-go.

The valuable data and experience accumulated from this exercise were soon reflected in subsequent exercises. In August 2019, the Russian Central Military District held a highway take-off and landing exercise with the participation of as many as 12 Su-34 fighter-bombers, 3 Mi-8 helicopters and 2 An-26 transport aircraft. The Russian military's new refueling truck also appeared at the exercise site, which can refuel more than 6,000 liters of aviation fuel in less than 5 minutes, helping fighter jets take off from the highway in the shortest time.

Although it started late, the Chinese Air Force attaches no less importance to highway takeoff and landing than its foreign counterparts. In the 1980s, the Shenda Expressway, the first expressway in China known as "the first road in China", reserved a section for war-ready runways at the beginning of its design and construction.

According to the China Military Network, in September 1989, before the Shenda Expressway was fully completed and opened to traffic, the Chinese Air Force held a large-scale exercise to verify the feasibility of using the expressway as a temporary runway.

At that time, many different types of military aircraft, including the J-7, J-8, and Il-14 transport aircraft, "passed through the white clouds, roared toward the ground, and all landed safely on the wide highway emergency airport runway with beautiful landing movements. It announced to the world: China also takes off and lands aircraft on highways."

On May 25, 2014, a domestically-made J-11 fighter jet was conducting take-off and landing training on a highway. Photo/China Military Network

Entering the new era, with the continuous enhancement of comprehensive national strength and continuous upgrading of weapons and equipment, the Chinese Air Force's road take-off and landing capabilities have reached a new level.

According to the People's Liberation Army Daily, on May 25, 2014, the Chinese Air Force successfully carried out highway takeoffs and landings of multiple aircraft, including the domestically-produced J-11 third-generation fighter jets, medium transport aircraft, and armed helicopters on a highway near Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

The military newspaper also disclosed that as of this exercise, my country had built more than 10 such combat-ready highways. According to the Ministry of Transport in February this year, the mileage of my country's expressways in operation reached 184,000 kilometers, of which the sections that can be used for military aircraft takeoffs and landings must be far more than 10 years ago.

Today, my country not only has the world's largest total highway mileage, but also has leading drone technology. According to China National Radio, in 2021, the Russian military has begun practicing highway takeoff and landing of fixed-wing drones. Whether China will have new developments in this area is worth paying attention to.