Bikaner: A Pakistani surveillance drone was shot down by a Sukhoi-30MKI of the Air Force in Rajasthan’s Bikaner on Monday, sources said. This was the second
drone to be downed by the IAF in a week; the first was taken out over the Kutch region of Gujarat by an Israeli-designed SPYDER surface-to-air missile
system on February 26, according to reports.
The Sukhoi-30MKI reportedly scored the kill using an air-to-air missile after the intruding drone was detected by Indian radars.
Drones are commonly used at border areas by the armed forces of both India and Pakistan to spy on each other as they are lightweight, easy to operate and
relatively inexpensive.
The Air Force’s latest action comes amid simmering tension between the two neighbours after a terror attack in Pulwama led to India responding with an air
strike inside Pakistan, and subsequent skirmish between the air forces of India and Pakistan – the first since the 1971 war.
A MiG-21 Bison of the IAF piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed a much advanced Pakistani F-16 fighter jet before his MiG-21 also fell to
enemy fire. He was captured by Pakistani forces and released nearly 60 hours later via the Attari-Wagah border.
Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Monday said “operations are ongoing”, which was seen as indicating that the forces remain in full preparedness even after
India and Pakistan pulled back from the brink.
