New Delhi, February 26: During the early hours on Tuesday, Mirage-2000 aircraft, the French-made Dassault fighter jets, were used by Indian Air Force (IAF) for the air strike on terror camps in Pakistan. As many as 12 IAF Mirage-2000 fighter jets, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under license from Dassault Aviation dropped 1,000 kg bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) on the Pakistani side.  Dassault Aviation is a French company which also manufactures the Rafale Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. IAF Strikes On JeM Camps Across LOC Live News Updates.

Here's all you need to know about Mirage-2000:

  1. The Mirage-2000, a multi-role aircraft, played a decisive role in the 1999 war of Kargil War and proved victorious. This undoubtedly made the aircraft one of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) most versatile and deadliest aircraft.

  2. The first Mirage-2000 aircraft entered service in July 1984 and the first operational squadron was formed during the same year, the 50th anniversary of the French Air Force.

  3. A total of 583 Mirage-2000 fighter jets were built over a course of 30 years.

  4. The Mirage 2000 comes with nine hard-points for carrying weapon system payloads: five on the fuselage and two on each wing.

  5. The single-seat version is also armed with two internally mounted, high-firing-rate 30mm guns.

  6. Mirage 2000 is also equipped to carry a range of air-to-surface missiles and weapons including laser-guided bombs.

  7. Apart from India, the Mirage 2000 is used by 8 other countries, including France, Egypt, UAE, Peru, Taiwan, Greece and Brazil. According to the official data, more than 500 Mirage 2000 operational in the world.

  8. Mirage 2000 has an upgraded digital Weapon Delivery and Navigation System (WDNS). The aircraft is fitted with a TV/CT CLDP laser designation pod from Thales Optronics, which provides the capability to fire laser-guided weapons by day and night.

Early on Tuesday, twenty days after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, India struck JeM's  biggest training camp at Balakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing a large number of terrorists.

Watch Video: All You Need to Know About Mirage-2000

Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale on Tuesday briefed the media and said the air strike killed a very large number of terrorists and their trainers. "In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jehadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated", Gokhale said. How IAF Destroyed JeM Camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad Across LoC in Pakistan: Here's the Timeline.

Watch - Surgical Strike 2: How IAF Destroyed JeM Camps Across LoC

Meanwhile, Pakistan admitted that the IAF planes struck Balakote but claimed that they returned when it scrambled its war planes. Pakistan said the IAF fighter jets crossed the LoC and returned after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled war planes.  Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor tweeted that the IAF planes dropped payload in haste before leaving, which fell near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Gokhale further added saying that credible intelligence was received that the JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country (India), and the fidayeen jehadis were being trained for this purpose.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2019 01:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).