Eagle Unleashed IAF Strategy and Operations

The only unfettered use of air power in India’s wars was in 1971, and it produced disproportionate and decisive outcomes. IAF’s air strategy, the extent of its role in contributing to the failure of Pakistan’s strategy in the west, and the vast range of operations carried out towards the surface war on both fronts simultaneously, are relatively unknown. A closer scrutiny of the IAF operations reveals its innovative air strategy, the high value strategic targeting which enabled strategic outcomes at the national level, offensive targeting which shaped the battlefields and extensive joint operations, towards national objectives.