Operation Safed Sagar

(Ministry of Defence)

 

WHAT

Air Chief Marshal, Chief of the Air Staff, led a four aircraft, MiG-21 ‘Missing Man’ formation flypast today, at Air Force Station Bhisiana, to honour the valour and supreme sacrifice of men killed in action during Operation Safed Sagar at Kargil.

 

MISSING MAN

• The ‘Missing Man’ formation is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms.
• This is an Arrow Formation, with a gap between two aircraft in the formation depicting the – Missing Man.

 

BACKGROUND

It was on this day in 1999 that, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja VrC (Posthumous) laid down his life during the Kargil conflict. He was at that time the Flight Commander of 17 Squadron.

 

OPERATION SAFED SAGAR

Operation Safed Sagar (Operation White Sea) was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force’s role in acting jointly with Ground troops during the Kargil war that was aimed at flushing out Regular and Irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.

It was the first large scale use of Airpower in the Jammu and Kashmir region since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

 

KARGIL WAR

The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC).

In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay which was the name of the Indian operation to clear the Kargil sector.

 

Source: PIB

You can follow us on LinkedIn and on Instagram (Diligent IAS) for more updates related to IAS Preparation/ Study Material, Subscribe to our Facebook Page and Youtube Channel- Diligent IAS 

Also read more PIB Updates

• Shanghai Cooperation Organization