india

Updated: Mar 05, 2019 22:50 IST

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday said all the Sukhoi-30 fighter jets that were engaged in air combat with the Pakistan Air Force jets on February 27 had returned to base safely, amid claims by the neighbour that it had shot down a Su-30 jet.

“False claim by Pakistan of shooting down a Su-30, appears to be a cover up for the loss of its own aircraft.,” the IAF said in a statement.

The air force said the deployment of F-16 by PAF and multiple launches of the AMRAAM (advanced medium range air to air missile) were conclusively observed by the Indian military.

“Prompt and correct tactical action by Su-30 aircraft, in response to AMRAAM launch, defeated the missile. Parts of the missile fell in area East of Rajouri in J&K, injuring a civilian on ground. Detailed report in this regard has already been released by IAF,” the statement added.

It reiterated the air force’s previous version that India’s air defence batteries, which were on full alert, detected a build up of PAF fighters on their side of the line of control on February 27, a day after the IAF bombed a JeM camp in Balakot.

The IAF said additional aircraft were scrambled to tackle the adversary.

“In their attempt to attack our ground targets, PAF aircraft were engaged effectively. From IAF side, Mirage-2000, Su-30 and MiG-21 Bison aircraft were involved in the engagement,” the IAF said.

“PAF aircraft were forced to withdraw in a hurry, which is also evident from large missed distances of the weapons dropped by them.”

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday cautioned against possible terror attacks from sea even as authorities dismissed as “false propaganda” Pakistan’s claim it had thwarted an Indian submarine’s attempt to enter the country’s waters.

The Indian military on Thursday warned Pakistan that it was prepared to respond swiftly and strongly to any misadventure or provocation, and contended that Islamabad peddled falsehoods about what happened during the aerial skirmish between the two air forces a day earlier, in a rare media briefing by two-star officers from the three services.

An additional director general in the army’s military operations directorate, said the army was “in a heightened state of readiness” to respond to any provocation.