"Indian Air Strikes in Pakistani-Controlled Kashmir: Fighter Options and the Story Behind the Scenes"
Since the independence of India and Pakistan, the question of the ownership of Kashmir has been the focus of contention between the two sides, leaving a rift that will not be healed. The dispute has also led to a number of armed conflicts, although these have been largely confined to small-scale ground conflicts. However, to the concern of military observers, on February 26, 2023, the Indian Air Force unexpectedly sent 12 Mirage-2000 warplanes to carry out airstrikes on Pakistani-administered Kashmir. This raises the question of why India, when it has a large number of Su-30 fighters, chooses the old Mirage-2000 fighters.
As we all know, Russia has always been the main supplier of weapons to India in the international arms market. India is equipped with a large number of Russian-made weapons, including tanks, armored vehicles, air defense systems, warships, submarines, warplanes and missiles. Unfortunately, however, India has been facing the problem of Russian-made weapons, and even the newly introduced Su-30 fighters have repeatedly failed, with at least 6 crashes, while the failure rate of MiG series fighters is higher. Although India blames the problem on the adaptability of Russian fighters to India's climatic conditions, Russia bluntly says that the main cause of the problem is the inadequate level of maintenance and overhaul in India. According to reports, the availability rate of Su-30 fighters in the Indian Air Force is only slightly more than 50%, which is well below the standard of 75% that should be.
This indicates India's lack of confidence in the performance of Soviet/Russian fighters, so the Indian Air Force prefers to use Mirage-2000 fighters. From a performance point of view, the Mirage-2000 fighter, as a third-generation light single-engine supersonic fighter, is widely considered to perform well in real combat. Even today, it is not inferior in performance parameters to other third-generation light fighters. In the 80s of the last century, India introduced this fighter to meet its needs for air defense and volleys. Despite the fact that this fighter was introduced earlier, its quality has been very stable over the decades of use. Due to its ease of maintenance and long life, it has a good reputation among the Indian Air Force and maintenance personnel. In addition, the "Mirage"-2000 fighter is also the lowest failure rate and accident rate among all kinds of international fighters introduced by India, so it is deeply loved by the Indian military.
Of course, there are other factors involved in this Indian operation. In 1998, after India conducted a nuclear test, Western countries, led by the United States, imposed sanctions on India, but France deviated from this position. France has not only ignored the sanctions demands of other Western countries against India, but has also signed a number of arms contracts with India, including the sale of six Fish-class submarines, the upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000 fighter jets, and 490 Mika air-to-air missiles. It is precisely because France extended a helping hand at the moment when India needed it the most that India actively promoted French fighters and paved the way for the introduction of 36 Rafale fighters.
It is worth mentioning that India also plans to purchase 114 light fighters. The Indian Air Force intends to introduce F-16 fighters, and at the same time take the opportunity to demonstrate the excellent performance of the Mirage-2000 fighter jets, with a view to reducing the purchase price of American-made fighters. According to Indian media reports, the airstrike was a response to an attack in India on February 14. Pakistan urgently dispatched fighter jets to intercept Indian fighters, but when the Pakistani side discovered the huge formation of Indian fighters, it hastily withdrew. Subsequently, India also shot down a Pakistani military drone in the Kuchi area of Gujarat, which borders Pakistan. An anonymous Indian official said the airstrike was intended to warn "terrorists" in Pakistani-administered Kashmir that India would not sit idly by and allow them to commit acts in India. However, some analysts believe that Pakistan is also a victim of terrorist attacks, and that India's surprise attacks in the border areas under the pretext of so-called "terrorist attacks" may be aimed at strengthening actual control over the Kashmir region. The Pakistani side said that its armed forces were ready to fight back against any aggression.