ACM Katre was 2nd IAF chief to die in harness. It was at a memorial lecture in his honour where IAF chief AP Singh revealed that India shot down 6 Pakistani aircraft in Op Sindoor.
The contract for the upgrade of 51 Mirage 2000s was signed in 2011. Sources say only about 50% upgrade has been completed & the programme will take another 2-3 years to finish.
Mirage 2000 aircraft also carried out a long-range precision strike against a practice target to mark the second anniversary of 2019 Balakot operation against Pakistan.
Rafale is considered to be one of the finest fighters in the world. With its avionics, radars & weapon systems, it is the most potent aircraft in South Asia.
Apaches were brought to provide close air support to the ground forces, while Chinooks were brought to enable faster deployment of troops and equipment.
A total of 16 aircraft, six each armed with Spice 2000 and Crystal Maze missiles, flew into PoK and struck Balakot terror camp while 4 remained in Indian territory as back-up.
In 2022, athletes claimed they were asked to wind up training early at Thyagraj Stadium so that the IAS couple could walk their dog. Then came the memes and public outrage.
Instead of buying more Mirages outright in early 2000s, the requirement was tweaked in favour of a medium-weight, multi-role fighter with Mirage-like performance.
Pakistan not only has zero chance of catching up with India in most areas, but will inevitably see the gap rising. Its leaders will offer its people the same snake oil in different bottles.
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