Cobras draw first blood as an Indian Canberra on a reconnaissance mission is shot down.
The Indians were cooking up something (They had completed the arrangements for a series of underground nuclear tests at Pokhran) and for that they were keen to know how Pakistan would react. On the other hand they also wanted to know about the operational status of the F-16 operations in Pakistan.
It was not a surprise when in May 1997, PAF radars picked up a high altitude track near the border. Two F-16s were immediately scrambled and vectored on to the possible path of the track which was now identified as an Indian MiG-25R flying at 70,000 ft. Initial vectors were passed to the F-16s as they prepared to initiate their zoom climb. The track was declared hostile as soon as it crossed the border into Pakistan. The APG-66 radar of the lead F-16 painted the track at a range of 92 km which continued to move inside Pakistan Air Space. The F-16s immediately initiated their zoom climb and climbed rapidly up to 50,000 ft. The mutual distance was reduced to less than 50 km and the F-16s were still climbing when they were told to disengage as the Foxbat had banked sharply, back into Indian Airspace. May it be haste (according to us) or an intension to rub our noses (according to the Indians), the Foxbat broke the sound barrier before exiting, making this engagement public.
History might have repeated itself had the Foxbat pressed on with the intrusion (In the past, an IAF Canberra continued to carry out its probing mission with two F-86 Sabres attempting an interception and were successful when the Canberra lost its height during a turn). The Indian pilot was well aware that if the F-16s were positioned 8 km below his aircraft, he would be in the firing range of the AIM-9L Sidewinder. Under these circumstances, any evasive maneuvering can make him loose his height and bring him into the clutches of the predators, lurking below him. It was this reason that he wisely disengaged rather than toy around with the F-16s.
The Indian MiG-25 Foxbat carried out various reccee missions near and over the Indo-Pak border in the past, but it never ventured deep into our airspace. The major reason was the fear of being shot down by the Pakistani Air Defenses. In the media it was claimed that nothing in the PAF is capable of reaching the cruising altitude of the MiG-25. To some extent this was true, but correct placement by the radar controller can always put it in danger of being shot down by Sidewinders. Similarly, PAF had the high altitude SAMs placed at VP/VAs to engage the Foxbat. It was for the F-16 and its reliable avionics and weapons' suite due to which it increased the probability of a Foxbat kill, and the Foxbat could never be utilized as intended by the Indians (Unopposed roaming deep inside Pakistan Airspace). USAF Vipers in DACT had outmaneuvered both the MiG-23 and MiG-25 in head-to-head tests, reaching speeds of up to Mach 2 at 60,000 ft ('Making of the Viper' Page 47), the PAF Vipers were fit enough to reach 60,000 ft. and take a shot at the Foxbat.
