As Air Chief Marshal (retired) S K Kaul says, ``The Drass-Kargil sector is a pilot's nightmare. Helicopter and fighter pilots have to expose themselves for long periods of time to spot a target, which can give someone sufficient time to home in on a Stinger. But the fact that they have been bombing their targets with very little losses speaks volumes of their flying skills.''

What's so special about the Stinger? Says Air Marshal (retd) Dushyant Singh: ``There are ways to change the direction of a surface-to-air missile (SAM) once launched, even electronic counter-measures to jam them. But there is almost no chance of stopping a shoulder-fired Stingermissile.''

Helicopters, like MI-17s, are more vulnerable to Stingers though, ironically, more effective than fighters in taking on targets like cement bunkers, as in the present operation, and in operating without straying across the Line of Control (LoC).

``But the danger to fighter aircraft is no less,'' says Kaul. Even more important, the former Air Force chief points out, is that the current lot of aircraft has not been designed to operate in the terrain and weather condition of areas like Siachen, Kargil and Drass.

The most effective on-the-spot counter-measure, says Kaul, against SAMs or other heat-seeking missiles is creating an alternative source of heat like flare dispensers. When a SAM is fired, it travels towards the jet of the flame emanating from a fighter aircraft. If the pilot fires a flare dispenser, leaves it at a lower altitude and speeds away, the missile changes direction and hits the new target.

In case of Stingers, though, the situation is completely different; there are no knowncounter-measures except for the pilot's skill in slipping way. While SAMs are usually fired from missile bases after an aircraft appears on the radar, Stingers are homed in on visual targets. And, therefore, can offer that split-second to a pilot flying a fast aircraft to change course. ``But first, the pilot must know that a missile is speeding towards him. And for that, his aircraft must be fitted with the necessary technology,'' Kaul points out.

``It would have been a totally different ball game if we could afford electronic warfare based on laser-guided technology,'' adds Lieutenant General (retd) N S Malik, who has served in the area for years in various capacities.

Besides the technological drawbacks, what makes a pilot more vulnerable to missile attacks, explains Malik, is the nature of the operation this time round. ``Operation Vijay is all about precision bombing, since there is no other way to flush out the infiltrators, " he said.