I have one question that has not been answered in this thread. Regardless of whether the terrorists intended to target the AWACS or not, since the time of attack, why were these important assets not "taken away". I mean at the first sign of trouble, should the have not flown off the base and be safe from a ground attack? Agreed it is fraught with danger in itself with any shoulder fired missiles, but in the case of an big assault by an enemy, would these not be sitting ducks?
Whats the use of force multipliers if they can be taken out at bases by teams of 9-10 terrorists. If there was a bigger team say 20 terrorists? would the outcome have been different. What if they carried any shoulder fired missiles?