Srinagar, Aug 12: India has positioned a squadron of upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets at the Srinagar air base to tackle threats from both the Pakistani and Chinese fronts.
The Tridents squadron, also known as the “Defender of the North,” has taken up responsibility for managing the threat from Pakistan in place of the MiG-21 squadron at the Srinagar air station.”Srinagar is located in the Kashmir Valley’s heart and has a higher elevation than the lowlands. It is tactically advantageous to position an aircraft with a higher weight-to-thrust ratio, a quicker response time, stronger avionics, and long-range missiles due to its close proximity to the border. According to Indian Air Force pilot Squadron Leader Vipul Sharma, the MiG-29 meets all of these criteria, allowing us to fight the enemy on two fronts.The MiG 29s have many advantages over the MiG 21s, which were also successful in shooting down an F-16 in 2019 after Operation Balakot attacks against Pakistani terrorist sites on their mainland. For many years, the MiG 21s were able to successfully defend their assigned territory in the Kashmir valley.
In addition to the upgrades, the MiG-29 was also given lethal armament by exploiting the government’s emergency purchase powers provided to the armed services, along with air-to-ground and very long-range missiles.Officials state that “the fighter aircraft have also been given the capability to jam the enemy aircraft’s capabilities during times of conflict.”
Squadron Leader Shivam Rana, another pilot, said that the updated aircraft has a longer range since it is capable of air-to-air refuelling and can operate at night with night vision goggles.
We’ve added the previously absent air-to-ground weapons as well. The pilots who are chosen by the Indian Air Force to fly these aircraft are its greatest strength, he claimed.The MiG-29s relocated to the Srinagar air base in January of this year and have since conducted extensive flights over the Kashmir valley and the Ladakh region, where they would be among the first to respond in the event that the Chinese attempted to violate Indian airspace.
After the conflict in Galwan in 2020, the MiG-29s were the first aircraft to be deployed in the Ladakh region to counter the danger from the Chinese side, and they have since foiled numerous other attempts.
