‘Our Fight Is Against Terrorism, Not With The Army,’ Says DGAO Air Marshal AK Bharti

Air Marshal AK Bharti emphasized that India's fight is against terrorism, not the Pakistan Army, which intervened after Indian forces attacked terrorist hideouts.

‘Our Fight Is Against Terrorism, Not With The Army,’ Says DGAO Air Marshal AK Bharti

Source : youtube/pib india

Director General Of Air Operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti made a bold statement about the Pakistan Army. He said our fight is against the terrorism not with the Pakistan army or the state, but the Pakistan army intervened after Indian Armed Forces attacked the terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir. 

"Our fight is not against the Pakistan Army, but terrorism. The Pakistan Army supported terrorists," stated Air Marshal Bharti, addressing the ongoing conflict and the threat posed by Pakistan. The Air Marshal's comments come amid a persistent wave of attacks and infiltration attempts from across the border, backed by terrorist organizations. 

Air Marshal AK Bharti says, "It is a pity that the Pakistani military chose to intervene and that for terrorists, and hence we chose to respond."

One of the critical points raised by Air Marshal Bharti was the performance of India’s integrated air defense systems. "All our military bases, all our systems continue to remain fully operational and ready to undertake any future missions should the need so arise," he emphasized, reaffirming the operational readiness of the Indian Air Force and its defensive infrastructure.

The Air Marshal also provided insights into the effectiveness of India’s defense systems in thwarting the continuous threat posed by aerial attacks. "Numerous waves of drones and unmanned combat aerial vehicles employed by Pakistan were also thwarted by the indigenously developed soft-and-hard-kill counter-UAS systems and the well-trained Indian Air Defence personnel," Bharti confirmed, highlighting the advanced measures put in place to secure India's airspace.

Describing the robust and multilayered air defense systems that have been strategically integrated across the country, Bharti noted the diverse range of weapons and systems at the disposal of the Indian Armed Forces. These include "point defense weapons like the low-level air defense guns, shoulder-fired MANPADS and short-range surface-to-air missiles or SAMs, to area defense weapons like the air defense fighters and longer-range surface-to-air missiles within our inventory."

Moreover, Bharti emphasized the importance of India’s net-centric operational capability in modern warfare. "This accords us the net-centric operational capability which is vital to modern day's war fighting," he added, showcasing the seamless integration of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force in defending the nation against aerial and terrorist threats.

Highlighting the effectiveness of older systems, Bharti acknowledged the proven capabilities of battle-tested defense assets. "While much has been said and written about the newer systems, I would like to place on record the performance and efficacy demonstrated by even the older battle-proven AD systems like the Pechora, the OSA-AK and the LLAD guns encountering the Pakistani threat vectors in the current operations. They were all modern generations, but these battle-proven systems stood the test of time and took them on head on."