How Pakistan failed to do Balakot-type strike on India on February 27
Deccan ChronicleNew Delhi: A day after the Indian Air Force carried out aerial strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Balakot, the Pakistani Air Force tried to carry out a similar attack against Indian military targets but failed to do so. “On February 27, the Pakistani Air Force with its package of more than 20 planes led by the American F-16s along with the French Mirage-IIIs and Chinese JF-17, fired 11 H-4 1,000 kg bombs from ranges of around 50 kms inside their territory at military targets at three locations but failed to hit any of them,” government sources revealed to ANI. The H-4 bombs fired by the Mirage-IIIs of the Pakistan Air Force are classified as stand-off weapons which can be launched from a distance to aid in quicker evasive manoeuvres of jets that fire them, similar to the Spice-2000 bombs used by the Indian Air Force in the Balakot strikes. The Pakistani fighter planes had taken off from different bases on February 27 and started gathering over Pakistan occupied Kashmir and their Northern Areas before they turned around to launch attacks on Indian military targets. The most advanced Pakistani fighter F-16s were used for launching the air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets defending air space while the Mirage IIIs were used for launching air to ground missiles in the attacks.