NEW DELHI: Had it not been for the quick response of an IAF unit based in Haryana that managed the Barak-8 surface-to-air missile system, a Pakistani ballistic missile, which may have had Delhi as its target, would have inflicted considerable damage at the height of the Indo-Pak conflict in May last year.On the first anniversary of April-22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed lives of 26 civilians and led to India launching Op Sindoor against Pakistan, TOI has learnt that it was Air Commodore Rohit Kapil, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of 45 Wing in Sirsa — a forward IAF base close to Pakistan border — and his team that had successfully intercepted and destroyed the Pakistani ballistic missile (presumably a Fatah missile or Shaheen-II variant) over Sirsa airspace with their Barak-8 missile system. The Pakistani missile may have had Delhi as its target. Security forces retrieved parts of the missile from Sirsa on May 10, with videos of its parts strewn on the ground going viral.The swift action by 45 Wing of IAF averted a major attack and showed the effectiveness of India’s integrated air defence network, which the Modi government is now working to expand to a pan-India level under the Sudarshan programme. The proposed multi-layered Sudarshan will fuse existing, indigenous and advanced systems — such as Russian S-400s, Barak-8 MRSAM and the indigenous Project Kusha interceptor system — to protect Indian cities, strategic assets and infrastructure from drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic threats.Not many knew about Air Commodore Kapil and his team’s vigilant action during last year’s conflict, but it may have saved many lives. For his role in air defence as AOC of 45 Wing in Sirsa, Air Commodore Kapil was on August 14 chosen for the Yudh Seva Medal by President Droupadi Murmu. Commissioned as a fighter pilot on June 20, 1998, he is a Su-30MKI pilot and Cat ‘A’ qualified flying instructor and has also commanded an operational Su-30MKI squadron.On the eve of the Pahalgam attack anniversary on Tuesday, the Indian Army cautioned Pakistan through a stern message on X: “When boundaries of humanity are crossed, the response is decisive”. The message carried a digital poster bearing a silhouetted image of India’s map with the caption ‘Some Boundaries should Never Be Crossed”.
