#fighterjets #fighterpilots #indianarmedforces #indianairforce #mirage #mirage2000 #frechairforce #armedelair #jet #airforce #ssb #kargil #balakotairstrikebyindianairforce #balakotairstrike #su30mki
Edited By: @the_aviation_fuel
Clips: @DDARCHIVES

In 1980, the Indian Air Force (IAF) learned of a successful approach by Pakistan to the US that year to purchase F-16A/B fighters, delivery of which was to commence in 1982.[34] By late 1980, the IAF had quickly convinced the Indian government to purchase an equally potent aircraft, as its MiG-21s and MiG-23s were inferior to the F-16. When evaluating the Mirage F1 earlier, it became aware of a high-performance prototype of the Mirage 2000 in the flight-testing phase. No other aircraft of this potential was being offered for export. An internal assessment of the Mirage 2000 was carried out and the Indian government felt that the French plane was more advanced and a superior response to the F-16s that the US was to supply to Pakistan, and approached France for 150 Mirage 2000s. In October 1982, the country placed an order with Dassault for 36 single-seat Mirage 2000Hs and four twin-seat Mirage 2000THs (with H standing for "Hindustan") with the possibility of a follow-on purchase of nine aircraft (eight single- and one twin-seater aircraft) as war, maintenance and attrition reserve. The purchase of 150 aircraft, could well have paved the way for joint production with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, but the number of aircraft ordered (40+9) was too small for such an arrangement. India nevertheless had the option to produce a number of Mirage 2000s under a license that was later scrapped due to the country's close relationship with the Soviet Union. This led to the induction of the MiG-29 instead, overriding reservations expressed by the IAF.

With the delivery of the first seven aircraft on 29 June 1985 to No. 7 Squadron, the Battleaxes, the Indian Air Force (IAF) became the first foreign user of the type, which it renamed the Vajra (Sanskrit: वज्र, for Lightning, Thunderbolt). The service's early aircraft were powered by Snecma M53-5 engines (so were designated Mirage 2000H5 and Mirage 2000TH5), which were quickly replaced by more powerful M53-P2 engines. The second unit to convert to the type was No. 1 Squadron (the Tigers), which was formally designated a Mirage 2000 unit in January 1986. Within 12 months of the first delivery, the IAF had received all 40 aircraft ordered. The follow-on order for nine aircraft was signed in 1986. Five aircraft were delivered by 1990, two more in 1992, and the last two aircraft were delivered in 1994. As such, the full unit establishment was not achieved until 1990.

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