Today, the country woke up to the news of a massive retaliatory attack by the Indian Air Force on Pakistan. Twelve days after 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu Kashmir’s Pulwama, Indian Air Force struck Pakistan across the Line of Control, destroying JeM training camps in Balakot. The government sources said the Mirage 2000 multi-role aircraft was chosen for the strike for its capability to hit targets with “pin-point” accuracy. A number of other assets and platforms of the IAF were also used in the operation, first inside Pakistan after the 1971 Indo–Pak war.
When did India buy Mirage 2000?
When the US sold its F-16s to Pakistan, it propelled India to bulk up its air defence artillery. It was back in 1982 that India placed an order for 36 single-seat Mirage 2000Hs and 4 twin-seat Mirage 2000THs with Dassault – the French aircraft manufacturer. Presently, 41 multirole Mirage 2000 fighter jets are in service in the Indian Air Force.
Mirage 2000 jets were also used in 1999 Kargil war
Despite the fact that the aircraft bought by India had limited air interdiction ability and had to be modified to drop laser-guided bombs and unguided bombs, during the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan, Mirage 2000 exhibited excellent performance in the lofty Himalayan mountains, making it India’s first preference. With a range of 1,550 km, the maximum speed of Mirage goes up to 2,336 km/h at high altitude and 1,110 km/h at low altitude.