India shot down the fighter jet near the Sargodha air base. (Representational)
An F-16 supersonic fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force was shot down in the evening by an Indian surface-to-air missile defence system, sources told NDTV. This comes amid Pakistan's foiled attempt to target Jammu with drones and missiles.
The F-16 took off from the Sargodha air base in Pakistan, a key air force station of the Pakistani Air Force. The Indian SAM (Surface-to-air missile) shot down the fighter jet near the Sargodha air base, sources said. F-16 is one of the mainstays of the Pakistani air force, which has Chinese and French fighter jets.
Sargodha is a front-line air base of Pakistan and one of the most heavily defended in the country, located in the Punjab province of the country.
Read more: Pakistani Missiles Intercepted In Jammu, Blackout In Border Areas
The Sargodha air base is located approximately 270 km from the international border.
Photo Credit: maps.google.com
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The US-made fighter jets were delivered to Pakistan in the late 1980s, and since then, they have undergone several upgrades. The aircraft was used by the Pakistan Air Force after India's Balakot air strikes in 2019 - India's response to the Pulwama attack - during which an MiG-21, piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan, shot down an F-16 in an aerial combat, a first dogfight between the two countries in over 45 years since the 1971 war.
This is the first time since 1971 that hostilities between India and Pakistan have escalated over a large area. A blackout has been imposed in several areas of Rajasthan along the international border. The Sargodha air base has been used by Pakistan for attacks against India during the 1965 and 1971 wars. In 1965, the airbase, the home of the American F-104 supersonic Starfighter jets, was struck by India's Mystere aircraft by the No. 1 Squadron based in Adampur.
Pak Escalation
The major development comes amid Pakistan's foiled attempt to target Jammu with drones and missiles, in an escalation of hostilities. Areas under RS Pura, Arnia, Samba, and Hiranagar in Jammu are under heavy artillery shelling.
Pathankot in Punjab, which is located close to the international border, has also come under heavy artillery fire from Pakistan. Pathankot is a strategic and tactical area for India and serves as the entry point toward Jammu. It is located 30 kilometres from the International Border. Meanwhile, sirens have been sounded in Chandigarh, and a blackout has been enforced. Shops have been asked to close, and people have been asked to go home. A blackout has been enforced in neighbouring Mohali as well.
India has successfully intercepted Pakistani drones, activating its air defence systems along the border.
The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) in an update said Pakistan attacked "Military Stations of Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur in proximity to the International Boundary, in Jammu and Kashmir, targeted by Pakistan using missiles and drones."
IDS said, "There were no losses and the threat was neutralised by the Indian Armed Forces as per the procedure with kinetic and non-kinetic means."
Last night, Pakistan attempted to attack military targets in Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.
India said it thwarted Pakistan's attempt to attack sites, using the Unmanned Aircraft System Grid (UAS Grid) and air defence system. India used the potent S-400 missile defence system to shoot down Pakistani missiles that attempted to attack India.
"The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks," India said in a strongly worded statement, calling out Pakistan's aggression.
India neutralised an Air Defence site in Lahore. Sources told news agency ANI that the Air Force fired S-400 on 'moving targets' and then India deployed HARPY drones to disable Pakistan air defence radars.
