New Delhi: A US-made helium-filled balloon that was shot down by Indian Air Force's Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft over Rajasthan's Barmer on January 26 had come in from Pakistan. Top sources in the government said the balloon could have been an attempt by Pakistan to gauge India's response time.
The Defence Ministry has now written to the Ministry of External Affairs informing it about the incident.
The shiny 3 metre in diametre balloon, with "Happy Birthday" written on it, was flying at a height of about 25,000 feet when it was picked up by the air force radars which were on high alert in view of Republic Day celebrations. Our radars picked up a shiny flying object entering our air space. A fighter jet was quickly scrambled which intercepted it and shot it down," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today without elaborating much about the incident.
A balloon similar to the one shot down in Barmer was spotted near Delhi airport on Wednesday evening. Delhi Police, however, claimed that it belonged to the MeT Department. But there is no confirmation yet.
Terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are armed with unmanned aerial vehicles and Barmer incident could be a reconnaissance attempt by Pakistan-based terror outfits to test India's preparedness.
27/01/16 India Today
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The Defence Ministry has now written to the Ministry of External Affairs informing it about the incident.
The shiny 3 metre in diametre balloon, with "Happy Birthday" written on it, was flying at a height of about 25,000 feet when it was picked up by the air force radars which were on high alert in view of Republic Day celebrations. Our radars picked up a shiny flying object entering our air space. A fighter jet was quickly scrambled which intercepted it and shot it down," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today without elaborating much about the incident.
A balloon similar to the one shot down in Barmer was spotted near Delhi airport on Wednesday evening. Delhi Police, however, claimed that it belonged to the MeT Department. But there is no confirmation yet.
Terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are armed with unmanned aerial vehicles and Barmer incident could be a reconnaissance attempt by Pakistan-based terror outfits to test India's preparedness.
27/01/16 India Today
