NEW DELHI: A Sukhoi-30 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down a Pakistan-origin drone on Monday near Bikaner, Rajasthan, according IAF officers privy to details.
“At 11:30 am, an unidentified flying object from the Pakistan side violated India’s airspace near Bikaner. IAF jets scrambled and fired air-to-air missiles. The debris landed on the other side,” said an officer, refusing to be named.
The neighbour issued a statement denying any airspace violation, but it did admit that a blast had occurred in the area which it attributed to jettisoning (dumping) of extra fuel tanks by Pakistan Air Force fighter jets.
Meanwhile, according to Pakistani media reports, PAF Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan visited the forward operating bases (FOB) and hinted at more encounters with the IAF in the coming days. He cautioned personnel saying they should keep their “guards up”, the media reports said. “The challenges are not over yet and we should keep our guards up and always be ready to respond to any aggression from the enemy,” he is quoted by news outlets to have said.