BackIAF chief does sortie in upgraded Mirage-2000 jet to commemorate 2nd Balakot anniversary
Bhadauria flew a Mirage 2000, the aircraft that was used for bombing Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) targets in Balakot region of Pakistan on 26 February, 2019India’s strike came after an Indian paramilitary convoy was hit by a suicide car bomb on 14 February 2019 in Pulwama killing 40 personnel
PremiumNew Delhi: Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Saturday flew in a multi-aircraft formation to mark the second anniversary of the IAF’s Balakot operation – when India launched an unprecedented cross-border strike in Pakistan during peace time to take out terrorist training camps after the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack.
Bhadauria flew a Mirage 2000, the aircraft that was used for bombing Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) targets in Balakot region of Pakistan on 26 February, 2019, from a key air base in central India, a person familiar with the matter said. Bhadauria undertook the exercise with pilots from the squadrons involved in the Balakot operation, the person cited above said. “It was a five-aircraft formation that consisted of Mirage 2000s and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets," the person cited above said.
The IAF used its French made Mirage 2000s to hit the terrorist training camp sites in Balakot on 26 February 2019 with Israeli made Spice 2000 bombs. While the bombing was carried out by the Mirages, the IAF’s Su-30s were also part of the mission.
India’s strike at the Balakot camps came after an Indian paramilitary convoy was hit by a suicide car bomb on 14 February 2019 in Pulwama killing 40 personnel. The attack was carried out by a terrorist belonging the JeM group. The Pakistan Force attempted to bomb Indian military installations on 27 February 2019, in retaliation to the Indian strike triggering an aerial engagement along the Line of Control border in Kashmir. The IAF in response scrambled its fighter jets and in the ensuing aerial combat, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed a Pakistani F-16 before his own MiG-21 Bison was hit by a missile forcing him to eject. He was captured by Pakistan but returned him to India on 1 March.
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