Israel’s covert assistance during the Kargil War was decisive, enabling India’s Mirage-2000 jets to deliver precision strikes with Litening targeting pods and laser-guided bombs, which turned the tide of Operation Safed Sagar in 1999, NDTV reported in an interview with two former Israeli Air Force officers.

This collaboration, revealed decades later, highlights how emergency defence cooperation between Tel Aviv and New Delhi altered the outcome of the conflict.

The story began in November 1996 when Rafael Advanced Defence Systems signed an agreement with India to equip Mirage-2000 fighter jets with the Litening targeting pod.

This system allowed Indian pilots to identify and strike targets with far greater accuracy than before. Ami, a civilian program manager at Rafael, credited his late supervisor David Zeit for championing the initiative years before it was formally signed.

Between December 1996 and March 1999, Israeli engineers and Indian officials conducted rigorous trials with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. By March 1999, initial aircraft testing was complete, but the system was not yet fully operational.

The turning point came in May 1999, when Group Captain N.A.K. Browne, India’s defence attaché in Tel Aviv, placed an urgent Friday night call at the start of the Jewish Shabbat. Within 48 hours, a team of Israeli engineers and specialists, including Ami and Shlomo, boarded a flight to India with boxes of tools and test equipment. On arrival, they were told by the Indian base commander that the situation demanded “much, much more than expected.” The team worked around the clock, uncertain when they would return home.

The technical challenge was immense. An Israeli-made targeting pod had to be integrated onto a French-built Mirage-2000 and made compatible with American laser-guided bombs.

This required blending three different systems into one seamless operating language under combat conditions. Multiple trips to India, extensive troubleshooting, and overcoming aircraft power faults were necessary before pilots could test the system in the air.

Indian officers played a crucial role. Squadron Leader Gershon Arora and Lieutenant Rajeev Kumar Dash, later Group Captain, worked closely with the Israeli team. Air Marshals Raghunath Nambiar and Narmdeshwar Tiwari led high-altitude strike sorties over Tiger Hill, achieving precision that Shlomo described as a genuine turning point in the war. These strikes hastened Pakistan’s withdrawal from strategic positions.

Israel’s support extended beyond targeting pods. It also supplied Heron and Searcher drones for surveillance and delivered laser-guided missiles for Mirage-2000s, despite international pressure to delay arms supplies.

This covert assistance arrived at a critical stage of the conflict, enabling India to conduct precision strikes at altitudes exceeding 15,000 feet, one of the highest-altitude air campaigns in military history.

For Ami, who made over a hundred trips to India between 1996 and 2004, the collaboration became personal. He described falling “in love” with India and called the bond with Indian officers a “brotherhood.” Shlomo revealed that his son now works with Elbit Systems and travels to India monthly, continuing the defence relationship into its third decade. He also disclosed plans to visit Kargil for the first time to see the war memorial and the terrain where the mission helped alter the outcome of India’s war.

The revelations underscore how Israel’s emergency defence support during the Kargil War not only transformed India’s air campaign but also cemented a strategic partnership that continues to deepen today.

Agencies