IAF carries out multi-aircraft sortie to commemorate Balakot Operations' second anniversary

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday said it has carried out a long-range precision strike against a practice target to mark the second anniversary of the Balakot Operations.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday said it has carried out a long-range precision strike against a practice target to mark the second anniversary of the Balakot Operations. The strike was carried out by members of the same squadron who carried out the actual operations.

Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria flew in an upgraded Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft during the multi-aircraft sortie to commemorate the second anniversary of the Balakot Operations. On February 14, 2019, Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) targeted a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway near Pulwama in South Kashmir killing 40 CPRF personnel.

Days later the IAF launched an air-strike on a JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The air-strike was launched in the early hours of February 26 and Pakistan's efforts to launch an offensive the next day to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir was thwarted by an alert the IAF.

In the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane and chasing Pakistani jets, crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was shot down. He was taken into custody by Pakistan. India also shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. (ANI)