India, Pak continue shadow boxing with Notams along borders for air exercises

NEW DELHI: The shadow boxing between India and Pakistan continues after cessation of the May 7-10 cross-border hostilities , with both countries issuing Notams (notice to airmen) to reserve their respective airspaces along the borders for exercises.

The South Western Air Command of the IAF is slated to undertake an air combat exercise in the Rajasthan-Gujarat region close to the international border from July 23 to July 25. Pakistan, in turn, has issued a Notam for its central region till July 23 and southern part on July 22-23.

Both nations had conducted multiple air force & naval drills in the run-up to the four-day intense hostilities that began after India launched deep precision strikes against four terror hubs in Pakistan and five in POK on May 7 under Operation Sindoor .

Though India made it clear that the aim was to hit only terror infrastructure, Pakistan chose to escalate the situation by launching waves of drones and missiles to target Indian airbases, military assets and civilian areas.

IAF had then struck at least nine Pakistani airbases & three radar sites, a few of them close to nuclear facilities as well as command & control structures, with Su-30MKI, Rafale & Mirage-2000 fighters using BrahMos, Crystal Maze-2, Rampage and Scalp missiles, among other precision munitions, for calibrated pinpoint strikes, as was reported by TOI.