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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10: Pakistan maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft was shot down for ``intruding into Indian air space'' and ``hostile behaviour'' in the marshy land of Kori creek near the Gujarat coast at 11.15 this morning. The wreckage of the aircraft, which intruded 10 km into Indian air space, according to the government, has been spotted strewn two km within Indian territory.
Pakistan immediately tried to send in helicopters into Indian territory and also bring in international observers but ``we gave them a stern warning that their actions will be seen as hostile and choppers shot down,'' Defence Minister George Fernandes said at a hurriedly convened press briefing in South Block this evening.
The Air Force and the Navy along the entire western sector have been placed on high alert since the downing of the Pakistani aircraft and ministry officials said that retaliation could be expected.
Air Force sources said that around 10.57 am, the radars in the south western sector spotted an``alien aircraft''. The radar station immediately alerted the Air Force base, Nalia, which was the Operational Readiness Platform (ORP). Two MiG 21 aircraft scrambled and took off to ascertain the identity of the intruder aircraft.
``The MiG 21 reached close to the intruder aircraft and identified it as Atlantique, a Pakistani naval anti-submarine warfare and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. As is the normal procedure, the MiG 21 tried to escort the aircraft to forceland at the nearest air force base but the intruder aircraft turned in towards the MiG 21 in an attack position,'' a defence ministry spokesman said.
``The MiG 21 changed flank and tried again but when the Atlantique tried to attack again, the MiG 21 pilot fired an air to air missile. The engine of the Atlantique caught fire and it went down at 11.15 am,'' he added. So far there are no reports on the Pakistani casualties. Soon after Pakistan tried to send in helicopters but seeing the Air Force patrolling the air space they went back,ministry officials said.
``Later they used the pretext of bringing in international observers to see the wreckage and enter the Indian air space but we said no way. Bahri vyakti sadbhavna se to nahi aa raha (no international observer is being brought in with good intentions) and we told them it would be seen as a hostile activity and dealt with accordingly,'' Fernandes added.
Ministry officers said that the wreckage had been spotted around 6.40 p.m by the smaller Chetak and Cheetah helicopters. ``But because the land is marshy, the choppers were unable to land. Therefore bigger helicopters (Mi 17s) will be pressed into service to pull out the wreckage from the marshy land,'' an officer said.
Though the motive of intrusion is still not clear, officers suspect the enemy aircraft was on more than just a routine spying mission. ``Today was a cloudy day. But now our fully armed aircraft are there, ready to take on any eventuality,'' he added. The Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) of bothIndia and Pakistan spoke on telephone after the shooting down of enemy aircraft.
``Our DGMO (Lt Gen Nirmal Chandra Vij) told their DGMO (Lt Gen Tauqir Zia) about it and they said they knew about it. But we made it clear to them that we will not brook any interference from them or see their choppers in our air space. When we see through the wreckage we will let you know, we told them,'' Fernandes said. ``Pakistan initially claimed the wreckage was on their side of the border and therefore they wanted to bring in observers but we said nothing doing,'' he added.
Fernandes said that this was not the first time that Pakistan had intruded into Indian air space. ``Eight times in three months but this is the first time we managed to catch them. Earlier, both their reconnaissance and fighter aircraft (F-16s too) succeeded in escaping,'' Air Force sources conceded.
Even the aircraft which was fleeing after dropping arms in Purulia was intercepted by the MiG 21 fighters of the Naliya air base and brought down tothe airfield.
What was it up to?
Experts say the Pak Navy's French-made Atlantique was most likely on a probing mission to sniff out the radar frequencies in the Rann of Kutch area and also to check the IAF's air readiness. It was flying low in ``an envelope'' in order to jam the radars, which are required during operations.
What it can carry: It can carry two Exocet AM 39 missiles, which can sink a ship from a distance of 100 km. It can also carry four air-to-surface missiles and nine Mk 44 torpedoes, which can sink submarines.
Hi-tech systems: It is equipped with a hi-tech Thomson-CSF Ocean master radar which operates all around on the X-band. The primary role of this instrument is to identify radar contacts.
Radar detector: There is an extremely efficient radar detection system on board. First, APAR-10B which detects emissions in the S, C and X bands. Secondly, the ARAX-10B which can which can detect and measure frequencies in the range of 2.3 Gega Hertz (GHz) to 11GHz.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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