Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 3 July 2026
India Conducts First Satellite-Guided Jet Landing Using Gagan System
Exam-focused facts from the 3 July 2026 current affairs briefing.
Key facts
- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted the first satellite-based landing system (SLS) approach for a jet engine aircraft in India.
- The operation was performed on an IndiGo Airbus A320 in Udaipur using the GPS-aided geo augmented navigation (Gagan) system.
- Gagan is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
- The flight successfully conducted a localiser performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approach, which enhances safety at secondary airports lacking an instrument landing system (ILS).
- SBAS improves the accuracy, integrity, and availability of standard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals by broadcasting correction data from geostationary satellites.