IAF’s Sukhoi 30MKI shoots down Pakistani drone near Bikaner border

Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi 30MKI shot down a Pakistani drone at Rajasthan’s Bikaner Nal sector area of the border at 11:30 am on Monday. The drone was detected by Indian Air Defence radars, according news agency ANI. The report came days after the IAF on February 26 conducted an air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot to avenge the Pulwama attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed. It was the first time in more than a decade that Indian jets had crossed the LoC to strike against Pakistan.

Rajasthan: At 11:30 am today a Sukhoi 30MKI shot down a Pakistani drone at the Bikaner Nal sector area of the border. Drone was detected by Indian Air Defence radars pic.twitter.com/Ijc4B4XzjN

— ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2019

Following India’s air strike, the Pakistani Air Force had also violated Indian air space and dropped bombs at a military post in India, but its jets were scrambled back by IAF. The Indian Air Force even shot down a US built F-16 fighter jet used by the Pakistani Air Force to strike India. 

Earlier in the day, a balloon-like drone whizzing around in the skies of Rajasthan's Bikaner further added fuel to the already tense situation. The suspected red-coloured airborne device was seen at the border areas near Santosh Nagar village in Rajasthan's Bikaner district on Thursday.

 After hovering around for some 10 minutes, the mysterious drone went back to the international border of India and Pakistan.

The villagers who suspected that the object might have come from the border, have informed the security agencies and police about the movement. Moreover, the 'War Museum' situated in the military station of the Jaisalmer headquarters has also been closed following the high alert issued at Indo-Pak international border.

In a related note, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has put all air defence systems on alert to deal with the intruders along the international border and Line of Control (LoC).  Security in several states sharing the border with Pakistan has also been beefed up. Police in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra issued a high alert following the air strikes.