In a serious provocation to India, Bangladesh is ramping up the facilities at the Lalmonirhat airbase, which is extremely close to the sensitive Siliguri Corridor, also known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’.
According to reports, the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has gone ahead with plans to build a new hangar at Lalmonirhat Airbase will is scheduled to host a Chinese air defence radar system aimed at monitoring Indian territory in the near future.
According to officials in the Bangladesh security establishment, parts of the new radar system have already reached Lalmonirhat nearly two weeks ago.
The Bangladesh authorities are building a concrete platform and suitable structures to upgrade the old radar system which is already present at the airbase.
The Lalmonirhat airbase contains a small concrete structure which houses a wireless room just 70 metres from the new hangar. New residential quarters have also been constructed over the last six months inside the airbase complex.
The Lalmonirhat Airbase already has an old radar with the new Chinese system scheduled to be installed close to it. Helicopters and light aircraft reportedly conduct regular monthly sorties from the airbase.
Media reports in Bangladesh claimed that construction of a large hangar for housing at least 10-12 fighter aircraft is almost complete.
A three-member Indian military intelligence team, which was led by a major general, ad visited Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon and other unidentified sites in the Rangpur Division of Bangladesh on October 16.
The Indian team was accompanied by Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman and a lieutenant general.
According to reports, construction work inside the Lalmonirhat Airbase briefly paused after the visit by the Indian team, but has since resumed.
Senior officers of the Bangladesh Army’s ordnance corps also met a four-member team from China Vanguard Company Limited on May 13, 2025.
Discussions during the meeting reportedly involved the procurement of HQ-17AE surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), JSG radar and FK-3 medium-range SAMs.
How big a threat is Bangladesh?
Although Bangladesh itself has limited ability and scope to pose a threat to India, it can be used as a pawn for India’s adversaries, including China and Pakistan.
Also Read: Chicken’s Neck: Has India invaded Bangladesh?
China to install radar near India-Bangladesh border
The HQ-9BE missile defense platform is coupled with a Chinese fire control system called the JSG-400 TDR radar. It directs interceptors in the direction of ballistic missiles.
The radar is now a part of Bangladesh’s upgrading, having first been displayed in an infographic during the 2021 Zhuhai Airshow and viewed at CASIC manufacturing facilities.
Additionally, after installing its first GM 403-M in Mirpur with the 71st Squadron, the BAF activated its second GM 403-M long-range air surveillance radar in Bogura on June 18.
The GM 403-M, a member of the digital 3D Air Defense Ground Master radar family, was created by Thales-Raytheon Systems and is capable of conducting surveillance from very low to very high altitudes.
