For the first time, the Indian Air Force will operate two Sukhoi fighter jets from  Uttarakhand's Jolly Grant airport as part of a move to expand options for any future requirement, officials said.

The IAF said the two Su-30 MKI jets will operate from the airport for two days from Monday.

"As a routine exercise of activating civil airfield by the IAF, a detachment of two Su-30 MKI aircraft would operate from Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun," it said in a statement.

The move comes amid increasing assertiveness by Chinese soldiers along nearly 4,000 km-long the Sino-India border which includes a portion in Uttarakhand.

"The detachment would operate from the airfield for two days from Feb 19 for area familiarisation before returning to their parent base," the IAF said. -- PTI