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Authors: Humphrey Hawksley
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the weather was appalling. The pursuit continued, and, before dark, they shot down two helicopters with their
heavy machine guns. The Chinese also used new microlights, fitted with GPS and aerial surveillance equipment. They buzzed the Tibetans, flying in driving rain, sending back details of their
positions. Then ground-attack aircraft roared in with cannon and bombs.
But the mountains were too dangerous for the pilots to be accurate. They spat fire into the snow and caused avalanches, but never once did they come close to hurting Togden and his party.
Indian Air Force Base, Lohegaon, Maharastra
Local time: 0600 Thursday 3 May 2007
GMT: 0030 Thursday 3 May 2007
On the radio command ‘Shikar’ the aircraft roared along the runway. The early morning sun flashed through the cockpit onto the instrument panels for the two
crew and the distinctive tail-fins of the aircraft from No. 24 Squadron ‘Hunting Hawks’ shook on take-off as one by one the pilots took their aircraft up. Their serial numbers were SB
076, SB 082, SB 083, SB 084, SB 091 and SB 092.
The mission could have been carried out with different aircraft: the MiG-27s from the ‘Scorpios’ Squadron; the multi-role MiG-29s from the secretive No. 223 Squadron; the
French-built Mirage 2000H from No. 1 ‘Tigers’ Squadron; or even the British Jaguars, which had been adapted to carry nuclear weapons. But the six planes lined up at the Indian Air Force
base east of Bombay, painted in the national tricolour livery of saffron, white and green, were the cream of the country’s air force. Russian-designed but Indian-built, the SU-30MKI was one
of the most formidable combat aircraft in the world. Such was Russia’s enthusiasm for the SU-30 that many other aircraft projects were starved of cash in order to develop it. As a buyer,
India’s historic military relationship with the Soviet Union and then with Russia gave it the first option. Once the order was secured, Russia refused supplies to potential enemies, such as
China and Pakistan. This was why India had now chosen to make a show of using the sort of airpower that its neighbouring enemies would never now possess.
The SU-30 series was initially designed as a long-range interceptor, to provide cover for Russia’s naval forces and to patrol the enormous and remote border areas. The MKI export version
acquired by India had been built with a multi-role added ground-attack capability, and the problems it had encountered in the late nineties had now been solved. The Russian avionics systems had
been replaced by French and Israeli cockpit instrumentation suites, with a special feature of four-liquid colour displays for both the pilot in the front and the gunner and weapons-systems
operator, on a slightly raised seat behind for better vision. The division of the workload between the two crew was balanced to ensure maximum range and highest air-superiority endurance. The
specialized equipment in the rear cockpit also allowed the aircraft to act as a mini-AWACs and command post. The primary weapon sensor was a Zhuk N001 pulse Doppler multimode radar with a range of
105 kilometres, with which it could track two airborne targets up to 75 kilometres. A secondary weapons sensor was the Infrared Search and Tracking system (IRST), with a 370 kilometre range.
The aircraft had been specially equipped for this mission, and did not carry typical weapons packages. The air-to-air missile systems were limited because India did not expect enemy aircraft to
be scrambled and intercepted during the few minutes the strikes would take. A decision had also been taken not to use free-fall bombs, in order to prevent allegations of indiscriminate attack.
The pilots retained their helmet-mounted sights for use with close-combat R-77 missiles in a look-and-shoot capability, together with air-to-surface missile and jamming pods for destroying and
disabling air-defence systems. Their main attack weapons were the 30mm cannon, for
heavy machine guns. The Chinese also used new microlights, fitted with GPS and aerial surveillance equipment. They buzzed the Tibetans, flying in driving rain, sending back details of their
positions. Then ground-attack aircraft roared in with cannon and bombs.
But the mountains were too dangerous for the pilots to be accurate. They spat fire into the snow and caused avalanches, but never once did they come close to hurting Togden and his party.
Indian Air Force Base, Lohegaon, Maharastra
Local time: 0600 Thursday 3 May 2007
GMT: 0030 Thursday 3 May 2007
On the radio command ‘Shikar’ the aircraft roared along the runway. The early morning sun flashed through the cockpit onto the instrument panels for the two
crew and the distinctive tail-fins of the aircraft from No. 24 Squadron ‘Hunting Hawks’ shook on take-off as one by one the pilots took their aircraft up. Their serial numbers were SB
076, SB 082, SB 083, SB 084, SB 091 and SB 092.
The mission could have been carried out with different aircraft: the MiG-27s from the ‘Scorpios’ Squadron; the multi-role MiG-29s from the secretive No. 223 Squadron; the
French-built Mirage 2000H from No. 1 ‘Tigers’ Squadron; or even the British Jaguars, which had been adapted to carry nuclear weapons. But the six planes lined up at the Indian Air Force
base east of Bombay, painted in the national tricolour livery of saffron, white and green, were the cream of the country’s air force. Russian-designed but Indian-built, the SU-30MKI was one
of the most formidable combat aircraft in the world. Such was Russia’s enthusiasm for the SU-30 that many other aircraft projects were starved of cash in order to develop it. As a buyer,
India’s historic military relationship with the Soviet Union and then with Russia gave it the first option. Once the order was secured, Russia refused supplies to potential enemies, such as
China and Pakistan. This was why India had now chosen to make a show of using the sort of airpower that its neighbouring enemies would never now possess.
The SU-30 series was initially designed as a long-range interceptor, to provide cover for Russia’s naval forces and to patrol the enormous and remote border areas. The MKI export version
acquired by India had been built with a multi-role added ground-attack capability, and the problems it had encountered in the late nineties had now been solved. The Russian avionics systems had
been replaced by French and Israeli cockpit instrumentation suites, with a special feature of four-liquid colour displays for both the pilot in the front and the gunner and weapons-systems
operator, on a slightly raised seat behind for better vision. The division of the workload between the two crew was balanced to ensure maximum range and highest air-superiority endurance. The
specialized equipment in the rear cockpit also allowed the aircraft to act as a mini-AWACs and command post. The primary weapon sensor was a Zhuk N001 pulse Doppler multimode radar with a range of
105 kilometres, with which it could track two airborne targets up to 75 kilometres. A secondary weapons sensor was the Infrared Search and Tracking system (IRST), with a 370 kilometre range.
The aircraft had been specially equipped for this mission, and did not carry typical weapons packages. The air-to-air missile systems were limited because India did not expect enemy aircraft to
be scrambled and intercepted during the few minutes the strikes would take. A decision had also been taken not to use free-fall bombs, in order to prevent allegations of indiscriminate attack.
The pilots retained their helmet-mounted sights for use with close-combat R-77 missiles in a look-and-shoot capability, together with air-to-surface missile and jamming pods for destroying and
disabling air-defence systems. Their main attack weapons were the 30mm cannon, for
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