As China Raises The Temperature Near Ladakh, India Increases Its Fighter Operations

Since the Chinese air force has begun an intensive defence drill across the border in Tibet, India has escalated fighter operations in Ladakh, with frontline jets flying more sorties, including night operations.

Sources claim that over the past several days, fighter aircraft from Leh and Thoise air bases have been flying more often, including Rafales and Su-30MKIs, despite the People’s Liberation Army Air Force activating its air defence system and conducting a significant exercise with its combat jets.

There have been incidents of Chinese fighter jets investigating regions near to the contested zones in eastern Ladakh, therefore night flying is being done more frequently on the Indian side. In one occasion, Indian fighter jets retaliated when Chinese fighter jets approached a disputed territory at roughly 4 am in late June.

Since the Chinese fighter jet did not cross the border, the event did not spiral out of control, but India still filed a formal protest in accordance with the established system for border negotiations.

The latest S-400 systems purchased from Russia and domestically made HQ-9 systems are part of the Chinese air defence network across the border, according to sources, and combat jets stationed at facilities facing the Indian border are flying more missions. Additionally, China has relocated a number of its cutting-edge J-20 warplanes to an airbase near the Indian border.

Indian soldiers have been on high alert for any odd action since since the Galwan episode in 2020, when the Chinese army sent a sizable number of ground personnel that were performing a regular exercise to the contested territories in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian Air Force had relocated a number of assets to the Ladakh border during the height of the crisis in 2020 and early 2021, including frontline planes, combat helicopters, and a variety of air defence systems.