2 Pak aircraft detected flying close to Indian air space: IAF

Jammu/New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) Two Pakistani aircrafttoday flew close to the international border in the Jammusector, triggering an air defence alert of the Indian AirForce.

The two low-flying Pakistani light aircraft weredetected close to Indian territory and were sighted by BSFtroops deployed in the R S Pura Sector in Jammu, Indian AirForce sources said.

"Their movement and approach were picked up by oursensors and radars," they said.

Thought the aircraft were flying in Pakistaniterritory, it was a breach of agreement between the two sidesbarring flying of fixed-wing aircraft in 10 km area from eachside of the international boundary, they said.

"As per its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), IAFresponds in such situation looking at the level of threatposed by the aircraft," they said, without giving details.

The SOP could range from activating its surface-to-airmissile batteries to scrambling of fighter aircraft locatedclose to the area.

Assets such as the airborne early warning andcontrol systems (AWACS) and the aerostat radars and chain ofground-based radars allows the IAF to look beyond itsboundaries.

The issue, the sources said, would also be taken upwith Pakistani authorities through the External AffairsMinistry.

In the last three years, Pakistan''s military aircraft,helicopters and spy drones or unmanned aerial vehicles haveviolated Indian airspace on 23 occasions.