Approximately four years ago, six Mirage 2000 fighter jets belonging to the Indian Air Force briefly entered Pakistani airspace and dropped five bombs. However, one of the bombs failed to deploy. The Indian jets retreated into their own territory less than a minute later due to the presence of Pakistani fighters on combat air patrols. Prior to the mission, the jets had taken off from Gwalior Air Force Station, and four Su-30MKI fighters and Netra AEWACS support remained in Indian airspace.
On February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force carried out airstrikes against so-called terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan. This was in failed response to a mujahid attack on February 14, 2019, in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, India, where 40 Indian security personnel were killed in a suicide bombing carried out by a freedom fighter group.
The Indian government claimed that the airstrike was a preemptive, non-military, and preemptive strike against a terrorist training camp, while the Pakistani government disputed the Indian claim and denied that any such camp existed in the area. The airstrike led to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, with both sides carrying out retaliatory measures, including cross-border shelling, skirmishes, and dogfights.
The target of the mission was supposed to be a religious seminary, but the incompetence of the Indian Air Force officers saved the day. The highly advanced Israeli guidance kit used by the pilots was not programmed correctly, resulting in the bombs overshooting their intended targets and landing in a nearby ditch. This was part of Operation Bandar (Monkey), which was a politically motivated military operation that risked India’s national security.
