Indian Air Strikes in Pakistan

[dead_pan]

Reports suggest it was a helo (Mi-17?) which crashed in Budgam.

[tartare]

Mrs T is an Indian language producer for SBS down here in Oz.
We've just watched a video - alive but bloodied and blindfolded pilot - not clear which nationality.
Quite a bit of concern here at the heat and antipathy already between the two communities - worry about reprisal attacks locally.
We're hearing flights in the region may be suspended until May.

[ORAC]

Pakistan has closed airspace to all civilian traffic.

[Captivep]

Indian government spokesman has just confirmed that its aircraft was lost, and that it was a MIG 21.

[denlopviper]

1 MiG21 from 51st Sqdn (confirmed) and 1 SU30 (waiting confirmation by indian side) were shot down as per the reports here.

EDIT

Both shoot downs by JF17s, No F16s involved.

[tartare]

Wow - that pilot was lucky to be able to get out of a MiG-21.
Ever sat in the cockpit of one of those things?
Terrifying.
Cramped, with hardly any room, big old horrible gunsight right in your face, and feet way down in the footwells to get to the rudder pedals.
NOTAM just issued reopening Indian civilian flight operations.

[downsizer]

Mig 21. The Indian Wing Commanders ID is all over the internet, who was the Sqn Commander. Indeed he even had his name on his flight suit. Interesting that they didn't sanitise themselves.

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by denlopviper

Hardly. They were within 5NM of the line of control and total duration inside Pakistani airspace was less than a minute..

Ah, thanks for the picture and the explanation, as well as the correction to the initial report. (Also thanks for the other various bits and pieces).
As I scrolled down the various tweets from Major General Ghafoor, I noted this bit

I noted this bit:

Kashmir remains a long pending unresolved issue on UN agenda since 1948. Decades of atrocities by Indian Occupation Forces have failed to suppress ever strengthening legitimate freedom struggle. Determined Kashmiris shall succeed IA.
#KashmirSolidarityDay

Also noted that the initial raid was done, scramble happened, no engagement. Following day, IAF tries again versus an alerted opponent, and JF17 shows that it can wax a Mig 21 and an Su.

[enginesuck]

Looks like one of the pilots were surrounded by a mob ( I have seen a video of him being slapped around) Fortunately the Pakistan Army rescued him from the mob in the video below he looks in good spirits.


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2618644291541170&id=795548680517416

[sandiego89]

Purported photo of the downed MiG-21 (rather flat) here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47383634

Be interesting if this comes out to be a BVR kill from a JF17.

[dead_pan]

#BREAKING: It is now confirmed that #India Air Force has heavily massed its fighters at Srinagar & Adampur Air Bases tonight. Even an Il-78MKI tanker has come a long way from Agra AFS. Several Su-30MKIs & MiG-29UPGs are now flying over #Kashmir.

​​​​​​Tweet from an Indian journo doing the rounds tonight

[hunterboy]

Could someone explain why you would take your name off your flightsuit if you are going to disclose your name/rank and serial number anyway if captured?

[Rhino power]

Originally Posted by hunterboy

Could someone explain why you would take your name off your flightsuit if you are going to disclose your name/rank and serial number anyway if captured?

I guess one reason is you can't give a false name/rank if you have the 'real' ones still on your flight suit?

-RP

[hunterboy]

Wouldn’t you risk being shot as a spy in such circumstances? I would have thought you’d want to keep the various protections afforded by the G.C?

[beardy]

Not everyone follows the Geneva Convention.

[frodo_monkey]

Convention would be to wear a flying suit sanitised of badges and insignia, but to carry certain forms of ID and wear dog tags.

[Training Risky]

Originally Posted by hunterboy

Could someone explain why you would take your name off your flightsuit if you are going to disclose your name/rank and serial number anyway if captured?

The gold-standard in the RAF was to wear a 'clean' grow-bag devoid of badges AND velcro. Just rank slides.
You wouldn't want an interrogator examining your brightly coloured 'Jaguar 1000+ Heures' badge and learning more about you than you want him to know...before you even opened your mouth!
Same principle for the velcro patch said badge is attached to. You don't want an interrogator holding up your distinctive triangular velcro patch and using it to help lead the Q&A session where he wants it to go!

But that is old-school Law of Armed Conflict rules against an enemy who follows the GC!

Luckily for this chap, Pakistan is a signatory to the GC Art 1 to 4 and the first 2 protocols. All good then.

[sandiego89]

Originally Posted by hunterboy

Could someone explain why you would take your name off your flightsuit if you are going to disclose your name/rank and serial number anyway if captured?

Besides limiting your exposure, it is important to note that the first folks you meet on the ground may not give you a warm welcome...plenty of stories about aircrew literally being met with pitchforks on the ground by the locals and expecting the worse until officials arrived on scene. Something about folks not liking being bombed...

Even Gary Powers after being shot down in his "weather research" U-2 feared the locals would finish him off.

[jolihokistix]

Maybe he forgot to stick on his "I love Pakistan" badges.

[MPN11]

Perhaps stopping wearing badges all over flying clothing would simplify matters? Or is all that stuff operationally essential?