Sources said the woman Squadron Leader, posted as a fighter controller handled "the high-pressure situation with lot of composure". The woman officer had also alerted the IAF fighters to the presence of F-16s, which were armed with AIM-120C advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles in an air defence role," added the source

NEW DELHI: A woman ground-based fighter controller who showed exceptional alertness and presence of mind to direct Indian fighters during their tense dogfight with intruding Pakistani jets a day after the Balakot air-strikes is likely to be recommended for a "distinguished service medal" by the IAF.

Sources said the woman Squadron Leader, posted as a fighter controller at an IAF radar control station in Punjab, handled "the high-pressure situation with lot of composure" while constantly instructing and updating the Indian fighters scrambled to intercept the "strike package" of 24 Pakistani F-16s, JF-17s and Mirage-5 attack jets on February 27.

Though the IAF was geared for retaliatory action by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) after it conducted the pre-dawn air strikes on the Jaish-e-Mohammad facility in Balakoton February 26, it did not expect it to happen the very next day.

The first inkling of the impending retaliation came after Pakistan closed its airspace to civilian traffic at about 8:45 am, even as the IAF radar control station was getting multiple inputs from ground as well as airborne radars. By 9:45 am, it was clear that PAF was dispatching fighters towards the Line of Control in J&K.

Three to four PAF jets crossed the LoC at Kalal area in Rajouri district. "By then, the IAF radar control hub had alerted two Sukhoi-30MKIs and two Mirage-2000s on combat air patrols north and south of Pir Panjal. Considering the large number of Pakistani jets, the radar hub also simultaneously called for six MiG-21s to be swiftly scrambled from nearby airbases like Srinagar. The woman officer played the central role in all this," said a source.

The MiG-21s surprised the Pakistani fighters by suddenly joining the aerial skirmish. "The woman officer had also alerted the IAF fighters to the presence of F-16s, which were armed with AIM-120C advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles in an air defence role," added the source.

In the ensuing dogfight, Wing Commander Varthaman shot down a F-16 with an R-73 missile by chasing it across the LoC, before he himself was downed. Though Pakistan has denied that it lost the F-16, IAF said it had enough proof through "electronic signatures" and parts of an AMRAAM missile recovered in Rajouri in J&K to show it was indeed the F-16.