Mirage 2000, MiG-21s strike turned tide tide of war in Kargil

The Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000 jets, equipped with precision laser-guided bombs, along with MiG-21s and MiG-27s, delivered a decisive blow to Pakistani positions during the 1999 Kargil War under Operation Safed Sagar.

Dras/New Delhi:  The deployment of Mirage 2000 jets, which carried precision laser-guided bombs, as well as the MiG-21s and MiG-27s under Operation Safed Sagar dealt a “decisive and crushing blow” to the adversary and hastened their withdrawal from strategic heights in the 1999 Kargil conflict, a senior IAF officer said.

Under Operation Safed Sagar, the Indian Air Force used high-precision bombs to target the enemy for the first time.

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The nation marked the 27th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, and many Kargil war veterans, including a retired IAF officer who was part of the operation, attended the commemoration at the Dras memorial.

Also, a new webseries — ‘Operation Safed Sagar: The Untold Story of the Kargil War’, which depicts the tale of the then Golden Arrows squadron, is set to premiere on August 7.

“During Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF was pressed in for providing air support to take out intruders at strategic heights. The weight of the attack was delivered to the enemy positioned at very high altitude — one of the highest altitudes where air power was used, world over then,” IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Jaideep Singh told PTI.

The IAF used MiG-21s, MiG-27s, and Mirage 2000s — which carried the precision laser-guided bombs (LGBs) — that dealt a “decisive and crushing blow to the adversary and hastened their withdrawal from those heights in Kargil,” he said.

Also, the helicopters of the IAF provided crucial support and helped in casualty evacuation while transport aircraft supplied heavy lift logistic load to the forward airfields, the officer said.

The Kargil War Memorial at Dras stands in testimony to the supreme sacrifice of over 500 bravehearts who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

A monumental obelisk at the centre of the memorial carries the words ‘Op Vijay’ — under which the Indian Army fought nearly three-month-long battles in rugged terrains and difficult peaks.

Besides the Army, the IAF too had played a critical role in turning the tide of the war in India’s favour with Operation Safed Sagar — its MiG-21s and Mirage 2000 jets played a key role.

A vintage MiG-21 aircraft of the IAF is displayed on the memorial’s lawns.

“The MiG-21 displayed here was part of the ‘Golden Arrows’, squadron no. 17 located at Killi Bhisiana Airbase, Bhatinda. This squadron was led by Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja who made the supreme sacrifice during the Kargil war and was awarded Vir Chakra posthumously,” reads a plaque installed next to the aircraft.

This MiG-21 was placed at the Kargil War Memorial in the year 2013 as “an epitome of valour and sacrifice to commemorate the contribution of the IAF in the Kargil War”, it says. On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army had declared the successful culmination of ‘Operation Vijay’.

Retired IAF officer and Kargil War veteran Group Captain Sanjay Misra (retd), while interacting with PTI at the Dras memorial on July 26, recalled his days when he was part of the Golden Arrows squadron.

“The plane you see there (on the lawn) was the very plane I flew for almost 15 years, exact tail number — C 1538,” Misra told PTI.

“After retirement, I had the opportunity to climb the Tololing Hill right behind me (at the Dras memorial), and from there I realised how difficult was that Battle of Tololing, where the enemy was sitting at heights that gave them strategic advantage. Still, the brave soldiers fought and got us the victory,” he said.

The upcoming webseries also shines a light on Sqn Ldr Ahuja’s role in Operation Safed Sagar. The officer’s aircraft was hit by an enemy shoulder-fired Surface to Air Missile (SAM) while he was attempting to locate a downed pilot in spite of being aware of the danger to his life owing to the existence of SAMs in the area.

Pakistan was using Stinger, a Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM).

IAF’s Mirage 2000 aircraft played a crucial role in the battles fought on the icy heights of Kargil during the conflict, and also hit enemy targets bunkered in at Tiger Hill, besides tasting success at Muntho Dhalo in June 1999.

On June 24, 1999, Mirage jets had bombed Tiger Hill using laser-guided precision bombs, and eventually recaptured the strategic position.

Former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa (retd), who was the commanding officer of the 17 Squadron at the time of the war, at an event held in Gwalior in June 2019, had said that deploying Mirage 2000 jets and air support to ground forces had “turned the tide” of the 1999 war in favour of India.

“Tiger Hill was also a message at that particular time that no matter how small you are, no matter how precariously you are positioned, we will be able to get you and hit you,” he had said.

*Military experts say the Mirage 2000 proved to be a “game changer” in the Kargil war as its deployment by the IAF skewed the asymmetry of the military assets in India’s favour.*

Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role, single-engine fighter jet, which is capable of dropping a range of bombs and missiles, including laser-guided bombs. India currently has three squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighter jets manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation. The squadrons are based in Gwalior.