Sir, you are the champ and you are everywhere busy with stuff and having access. I am just another ordinary civilian.
I was actually talking about particular "Gambler1" thing which was audible in one of the Operation Swift Retort documentary.
Like if i start rattling off....it will surprise us all.
As i mentioned before, there were mistakes made by both PAF and IAF, but being part of them, i take them as normal. During battle, shit happens, we all get used to it.
I will not point out PAF's mistakes for obvious reasons. May be some other time.
Take the case of Abhinandan. He took off, full AB on. His No 2 and 3 also took off after him. As per rules, he should have waited for his No 2 and 3 to catch up, before heading westwards. However, in sheer exhuberance, he kept going on AB, low level flight, taking the advantage of the valleys. The first time he was spotted was when he started a zoom up attack, he popped up suddenly from amongst the mountains, wanting to gain height rapidly and looking around targets for R-77 maybe.
Abhi then entered the box which was being jammed by XYZ asset. At the same moment probably, the four flights of foursomes F-16s (total 16 F-16s), were seen by IAF controllers. Thats when the IAF lady flight controller is heard continuosly, yelling "flow cold". Now, interestingly, since the No 2 and 3 were way behind Abhi, and since they had not entered the kill / jam box, they received the message and went cold as ordered.
Abhi did not receive the message initially. Once he detected the PAF fighters ahead (the nearest F-16 was 9 NM away, he was not the one who took the shot though), he executed standard evasive maneuvers whereby he took 90 deg turn away from the PAF fighters in order to increase distance etc. However, the moment he started turning away from PAF aircraft, the call from the lady controller got through (Abhhi must have gotten out of jam box by now). Now the call was interpreted wrongly by Abhi. If he would have continued on his original course, he would have been far away. However, he took the call as it was like received just now. He reversed his turn and turned INTO the PAF fighters, whereby he took the hit.
PS. If by luck, Abhi's No 2 and 3 would have been with him at the moment....it would have been 16 F-16s (64 AIM-120s and 32 AIM9s overall) against 3 Mig21s....instead of 1, 3 Mig21s would have been surely downed that day. IAF was lucky in this aspect as well.
@The Eagle This is just one story out of many, including of the M-2000 CAP, the Su-30s, the bugging out of IAF AWACs, launch of SAR heli, SPYDER hit...each of these is a separate story...was it mere coincidence that the target which PAF choose to bomb was having indian army chief and possibly Corps commander as well? If PAF would have decided to bomb the target itself instead of dropping them away, wont the killing of indian army chief triggered full-out war? Can it be termed as an intelligence failure on our part? Or was it planned like this, to rattle the indian army top lot in order to bring them to their senses??
It was overall an interesting day. But so is the profession of arms otherwise. Interesting for some, deadly for many,
