LUCKNOW, May 3 -- Uttar Pradesh on Friday became the first state in the country to have the night landing facility for fighter jets on an expressway. The milestone was reached when the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets touched down and took off on the 3.5-km stretch of the Ganga Expressway near Piru village under Jalalabad tehsil in Shahjahanpur. The exercise was conducted in two phases - during the day and at night from 9pm to 10pm- to test the airstrip's night-landing capabilities, according to the UP government. Cutting-edge aircraft such as the Rafale, Sukhoi-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, AN-32, C-130J Super Hercules, and MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force took to the skies in an extraordinary showcase of combat readiness and disaster relief capabilities. "Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to have night landing facility for fighter jets on an expressway," the state government said. The air show was organised to assess the expressway's potential as an alternative runway during times of war or national emergencies. The exercise holds much significance in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. IAF fighter jets also performed low fly-pasts at an altitude of just one metre. The state government has taken all required steps for the security of the airstrip by installing around 250 CCTV cameras on both sides. The Ganga Expressway is the fourth expressway in the state that has an airstrip for fighter jets of the Indian Air force. These strategically located airstrips serve as alternative runways for the Indian Air Force during wartime or emergencies. But the Ganga Expressway is the first in UP and across the country that has a night-landing facility. The 594-kilometre-long Ganga Expressway is currently in its final phase of construction. According to the government, the Ganga Expressway will be operational by November 2025. UP finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna was the chief guest. Chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh was also present. Union minister of state Jitin Prasad and Uttar Pradesh minister of state J.P.S. Rathore were among the other dignitaries in attendance....