NEW DELHI : Ahead of India’s Independence Day, Netflix is bringing the cinematic retelling of Operation Safed Sagar. The series focuses on the Indian Air Force’s contribution in the Kargil War. It is created by Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava and directed by Oni Sen. Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma, Mihir Ahuja, Taaruk Raina, and Arnav Bhasin headline Operation Safed Sagar. Before its release, let’s understand what Operation Safed Sagar was all about, who the important people leading it were, and how the Indian Air Force contributed to the Kargil War in 1999.
What is Operation Safed Sagar?
The Kargil War was an important chapter in India’s history. Operation Safed Sagar was the codename for the Indian Air Force’s air campaign, which was launched to support the Indian Army’s Operation Vijay after Pakistani soldiers and armed infiltrators secretly occupied strategic mountain peaks on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kargil, Drass, Batalik, and Mushkoh sectors. It was the country’s first large-scale use of Indian air power in Kashmir since the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Operation Safed Sagar was one of the world’s most challenging high-altitude air campaigns.
How IAF helped in the Kargil War?
According to reports available on Operation Safed Sagar, it was early 1999 when Indian patrols discovered that Pakistani troops from the Northern Light Infantry, along with armed militants. They had occupied high-altitude posts that Indian forces vacated during winter. Those posts overlooked the National Highway 1A, a crucial road that connected Srinagar to Leh. This was seen as a potential threat to India’s military supply lines. Amid these situations, the Indian soldiers had to climb steep slopes under enemy fire, and it made ground operations challenging.
Once the extent of the intrusion became clear, the government authorised the Indian Air Force to join Operation Vijay. Operation Safed Sagar began on May 26, 1999. The mission was to destroy enemy bunkers, ammunition dumps, supply routes, and logistics bases while providing close support to Indian Army units advancing uphill. However, the government instructed that no IAF aircraft crossed the Line of Control under any circumstances.
Operation Safed Sagar challenges
During Operation Safed Sagar, Indian pilots flew in extremely thin air at altitudes exceeding 15,000 feet, where aircraft performance, engine power, and weapon accuracy were significantly affected. Reportedly, the enemy also possessed shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, forcing the IAF to change tactics after suffering early losses.
Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja’s MiG-21 was shot down on May 27, 1999, whereas an IAF MiG-27 was lost due to engine trouble during combat. Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa was captured after ejecting and later returned to India. An Mi-17 helicopter was also lost to a Stinger missile.
Soon, the IAF shifted to higher-altitude bombing and deployed its Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft, which destroyed key Pakistani supply camps, including the Muntho Dhalo logistics base. India’s precise strikes and relentless attacks on bunkers and ammunition dumps weakened Pakistani positions, and the Indian Army could recapture strategic peaks such as Tiger Hill and Tololing.
Operation Safed Sagar conclusion
Eventually, Operation Safed Sagar ended with Operation Vijay. India regained control of the occupied positions, and Pakistan withdrew its forces following international pressure and battlefield setbacks.
