20 Years of Kargil War: IAF Commemorates at Gwalior Air Base

The Indian Air Force (IAF) commemorated 20 years of Kargil War (held between May-July 1999) by turning Gwalior air base virtually into a ‘war theatre’ with a dramatic reenactment of some milestones of 1999 operation such as Tiger Hill Attack.

Key Highlights

Chief Guest: for event was Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.

Symbolic Recreation of Tiger Hill Attack: IAF planned several activities at Gwalior air base to commemorate 20 years of Kargil war and symbolic recreation of Tiger Hill attack was one of them. For recreating Tiger Hill attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Drass-Kargil area, IAF used Mirage 2000 aircraft and explosives were blown up on a Model Hill to recreate crucial events of kargil war.

Other Aircrafts on static display at the base were- 5 Mirage 2000, 2 MiG 21s and 1 Sukoi 30 MKI.

Mirage-2000 aircraft played a crucial role in battles fought during 1999 war and also hit enemy targets bunkered in at Tiger Hill. One of the Mirage 2000s also showcased Spice bomb carrier, the bomb was used in Balakot airstrike in 2019 February.

Other Scheduled Events: To mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’, a number of celebratory events has been planned by Indian army in Delhi and Dras in J&K for next month. The anniversary celebrations for 2019 be conducted on a nationwide platform from 25-27 July.

About Kargil War

It was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which ended with decisive Indian victory. It took place between May-July 1999 in Kargil district (of Kashmir) and elsewhere along Line of Control (LOC).

Cause: of war was infiltration by Pakistani soldiers into positions on Indian side of LOC who disguised as Kashmiri militants.

In India, war is also referred as Operation Vijay, the name of Indian operation to clear Kargil sector. During Kargil war, IAF had conducted Operation Safed Sagar as a part of Operation Vijay of the Indian Army.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2019