The Photo Interpretation (PI) cell at the air headquarters analyses miles of exposed films and many square metres of photoprints identifying targets and co-relating them with maps to come up with exact locations of the enemy positions including ammunition or supplies dumps or bunkers.

The PI cell has been working round-the-clock for the past more than a month, ensuring that pilots find their targets in such a difficult terrain when their navigation aids and their own skills have taken them to the given co-ordinates. When both combine, the resuls are spectacular.

Defence sources said pilots indeed faced some difficulties in the beginning of the operation in flying at such an altitude and in a terrain which is probably the most difficult in the world, andpinpointing the enemy location. But the hard work done by experts of the PI cell made their task easier. That was perhaps one of the reasons for the lesser number of casualties.

The IAF could perhaps be the only air force in the world to have performed at a height of about 15,000 ft to 18,000 ft in such a difficult terrain with an amazing success rate, the sources added.

The sources said that for the first few days of `Operation Vijay', pilots could not pinpoint for attack the exact location of the enemy target and they bombarded the positions identified by the Army. However, after sometime reconnaissance missions by the IAF surveyed the entire area.

The PI cell closely examined the photographs of miles and miles of the terrain, pinpointed the enemy camps and other positions and co-related them on maps for the pilots. The sources said the PI cell has been instrumental in inflicting heavy damage on the enemy during the past month.

Air operations against the enemy were started on May 26 after theCabinet Committee on Security (CCS) okayed the decision on May 25. The IAF began operations in Drass sector with an attack on Tiger Hill, but there was no success because the exact location of the enemy was not known. After that the IAF flew several reconnaissance missions and took photographs of the entire area.

The photographs were studied and analysed by experts of the PI cell and information was provided to the IAF. With the information in hand, IAF planes blew up enemy positions on Tiger Hill on June 24, 25 and 26 providing the infantry a lever and paving way for their final assault and victory.

The sources said it was mainly because of the well targeted initial attacks by IAF that Tiger Hill was recaptured in less than a week and there were not many casualties. It took nearly three weeks to recapture Tololing and casualties were also many.

The sources said it was very difficult to ``spot a white enemy tent on white snow from an aircraft flying at a height of about 30,000 ft.'' in the beginning ofthe air operations, pilots were facing difficulties while flying between high mountains and ridges and hitting tagrets. But now they were so used to it that they attacked enemy positions aptly even during nights.