Indian Army contemplating to move air defence units near to Pakistan border
   16-May-2019

 
 
After making a thorough assessment of the recent conflict with Pakistan, the India Army contemplating to deploy a number of its air defence units close to the border to thwart aerial threats emanating from Pakistan. Army sources told that “Some of the fighting formations including air defence and other defensive formations are now planned to be moved closer to the borders. With these air defence units deployed closer to the border, we would be able to tackle any possible aerial strike from the enemy side and thwart it close to the border itself”. According to the sources, the defence units would be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. This conclusion was arrived at after making a thorough review of the locations of the air defence units.
 
 
After India hit the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot town of Khyber Pakhtunwa province of Pakistan, the neighbouring country launched a big aerial attack in Jammu sector along the Line of Control. Even though the attack was thwarted by the Air Force air defence fighters including the MiG-21s and the Su-30MKIs and one Pakistani F-16 was also shot down, it was felt that presence of air defence units in the area could have caused more damage to the Pakistanis. Due to the aggressive response of the Air Force, the Pakistanis could come only a couple of kilometers inside the Indian territory. The Pakistani air attack on February 27 was in response to the Balakot hits by the Indian Air Force a day earlier.