IAF Chief leads 'Missing Man' formation to pay tributes to Kargil bravehearts

Kargil war veteran Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Tuesday paid homage to Indian Air Force (IAF) jawans who lost their lives when a Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by Pakistan during the 1999 battle.

IAF Chief Dhanoa paid tribute by flying a 'Missing Man' formation at Sarsawa base in Uttar Pradesh. 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi and Western Air Commander Air Marshal R Nambiar were also a part of the team.

The 'Missing Man' formation is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms.

Earlier on Monday, a squadron of MiG-21 aircraft led by the IAF chief flew in the missing man formation to pay tribute to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja who was killed in action in Operation Safed Sadar during the Kargil war.

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).

The IAF had played a key role in enabling the Indian Army to recapture the majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LoC infiltrated by the Pakistani troops and terrorists.

The war came to an end on July 26 with a decisive victory for India as it regained Kargil and Pakistan being criticised globally for instigating the war and for making its paramilitary forces cross the LoC.