IAF fighter jets scrambled last night after Pakistan F-16s flew close to border: Sources

The Indian Air Force scrambled its top fighter jets to intercept four Pakistani fighter jets that were flying close to the international border near Punjab, sources told India Today TV.

It’s unclear if the Pakistani jets were trying to intrude into Indian airspace, with sources saying that the Pakistani fighters were flying with a surveillance drone with the possible aim of detecting Indian troop deployment near the border.

Once radars detected the movement of the four Pakistani F-16 fighter jets, the Indian Air Force scrambled its Sukhoi Su-30 and Mirage-2000 fighter jets.

The development from last night comes at a time when militaries of both India and Pakistan are on alert following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack and the February 26 Balakot airstrike.

The Balakot airstrike targetted a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, located in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Balakot airstrike was followed by a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani air forces in which a Pakistani jet and an Indian fighter were shot down.

The Indian pilot of the downed jet was taken prisoner by the Pakistan Army before being released two days later.

The release of the pilot — Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman — cooled tensions between India and Pakistan but the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army and the Indian Navy have remained on operation alert ever since.