Dras/New Delhi, Jul 30: The Indian Air Force’s deployment of Mirage 2000, MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter aircraft under Operation Safed Sagar delivered a decisive blow to enemy positions during the 1999 Kargil War, significantly contributing to India’s victory, a senior IAF officer has said.
The remarks come days after the nation commemorated the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, with war veterans and serving personnel paying tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the conflict.
IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Jaideep Singh said the operation marked the first use of precision laser-guided bombs (LGBs) by the Indian Air Force in combat.
“During Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF was tasked with providing air support to eliminate intruders occupying strategic mountain heights. Mirage 2000 aircraft equipped with laser-guided bombs, along with MiG-21s and MiG-27s, dealt a decisive and crushing blow to the adversary and hastened its withdrawal from the Kargil heights,” he said.
He noted that the Kargil conflict witnessed one of the highest-altitude uses of air power in military history. Besides fighter aircraft, IAF helicopters played a crucial role in casualty evacuation, while transport aircraft maintained logistics support to forward air bases.
The Kargil War Memorial at Dras honours more than 500 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during Operation Vijay, the Indian Army’s campaign to recapture strategic peaks occupied by Pakistani intruders.
A vintage MiG-21 displayed at the memorial belonged to the IAF’s 17 Squadron “Golden Arrows”, commanded during the war by Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, who was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra after making the supreme sacrifice while attempting to locate a fellow pilot.
Kargil War veteran Group Captain Sanjay Misra (Retd), who flew the same MiG-21 displayed at the memorial, recalled the challenging conditions during the conflict.
Reflecting on his visit to Tololing after retirement, he said witnessing the battlefield from the mountain underscored the extraordinary courage of Indian soldiers who fought against heavily fortified enemy positions at commanding heights.
The contribution of the IAF during the Kargil War will also be showcased in the upcoming web series “Operation Safed Sagar: The Untold Story of the Kargil War,” scheduled to premiere on August 7.
Military experts have long regarded the Mirage 2000 as a game changer in the conflict. Its successful precision strikes, including attacks on Tiger Hill and Muntho Dhalo, played a pivotal role in weakening enemy defences and helping Indian forces regain strategic positions.
Former Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, who commanded the Golden Arrows squadron during the war, had earlier said that the induction of Mirage 2000 aircraft and coordinated air support turned the tide of the Kargil conflict decisively in India’s favour.
