‘What all could have happened if we had Rafale?’ This statement by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surfaced after the 2019 India-Pakistan aerial showdown. The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) failed airstrikes near Balakot met a swift broad daylight response by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) under Operation Swift Retort.
Operation Swift Retort was the first time in decades since 1971 that the air forces of India and Pakistan were pitched against one another. It’s been seven years since the incident, but the memory of a captured Indian fighter pilot sipping tea on national television remains vivid to this day.
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