Kargil War Diwas: What is Operation Safed Sagar? When India dominated Pakistan with its air power during Kargil War on May 26

The Kargil War, 1999 is pivotal moment in India's history where the country strongly retaliated Pakistan’s aggression in the Kashmir Valley which faced years of turmoil and dominated the latter with its air power. The Kargil martyrs are still proudly remembered by Indians 26 years after the war. Though the Indian Army was mostly involved in pushing out the Pakistani soldiers, the Indian Air Force (IAF) played a major role in driving out the enemies from the snowy peaks with its ‘Operation Safed Sagar’, jointly with the army.

What is ‘Operation Safed Sagar’?

Operation Safed Sagar was launched to support the Indian Army in Operation Vijay, the military operation to oust Pakistani intruders from the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir during the Kargil War. Under Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF deployed its varied assets, including Mirage 2000s, MiG-21s, MiG-23s, MiG-27s, MiG-29s, Jaguars, and Chetak helicopters. This was the first time after the 1971 Indo-Pak War when India deployed such air assets in massive scale in Kashmir. The equipment launched high-altitude precision strikes and attacks in the rugged mountainous terrain, which went down in history as one of the most decisive moments in the Indian defence.

Martyr Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja

The operation started on 26 May 1999 when the forces located Pakistani infiltrators and took help of air forces to drive them out. In one of the events in the mission, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja who flew Mig-21 got injured in a Pakistani missile attack. Though he was ejected from the aircraft, the Pakistani army captured him, and he later died. The operation went on for 40 days, during which the air force executed more than 500 missions.

The government of India had given specific instructions to not cross the Line of Control (LoC) even if Pakistan had broken the protocol. The government had strategically considered this as a politically important move to not let the war go beyond India and Pakistan. Flying in the rugged, snow-covered, and oxygen-deprived hills of Kargil was extremely challenging. Nevertheless, the Air Force pilots bravely completed their missions.