The Indian Army's firing range in Ayodhya of Uttar Pradesh has become unsafe because of the new airport—Maharishi Valmiki International Airport—forcing the authorities to look for land elsewhere in the country.
The Army requires firing ranges to carry out trials of weapons, including tanks and infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs). According to sources, the Army is currently using ranges that are available but is looking for an alternative location to set up a new firing range. The field firing range in Ayodhya has become unsafe to use as it falls in the flight path.
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“In the case of the Ayodhya range, we all know that a new airport has come up and this range is in the flight path of aircraft,” an Army source has been quoted as saying.
Apart from Ayodhya, the Indian Army has firing ranges in Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan. The firing ranges in Arunachal Pradesh—Mandala and Kamrala—are located at altitudes over 10,000 feet. They are also situated 50 kilometers of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The Army is in the process of acquiring land for a firing range in one of the states in the Northeast that borders China, according to a news report.
“In the forward area, we are in the process of acquiring certain field firing ranges, including one in one of the forward states of the eastern front," TNIE quoted an Army source as saying.