MIG 21 BISON

F-16

In the case of attack on the airbase, random fighter aircrafts cant be scrambled,instead all the air forces have ‘interceptors’ dedicated for this purposes with small number ready at any point of time ready to be scrambled to neutralise the incoming threats.MIG 21,LCA TEJAS and MIG 29 are some of the interceptors with MIG 21 being used primarily by the IAF.Although SU 30 MKI and MIRAGE 2000s were scrambled from the nearby bases but the objective of PAF’S mission was to stay out of range of MIRAGE 2000I and shoot down a SU 30MKI if possible. So on one hand SU 30 was busy dodging AMRAAMS and was successful in dodging 4-5 of them and on the other hand when PAF’S fighter saw MIRAGE coming they turned back.This is the reason why six MIG 21’s were scrambled to counter F 16 when forward bases in kashmir were attacked.

Now to your second question;

After the balakot airstrikes all the bases were already put on red alert. So when on the morning of 27 February PAF’S strike package(consisting of JF17 and F16’s) tried to attack the military installations, by the time they crossed LOC they already were detected by the Indian radars and interceptors were already in air. So at this time use of SAM’S would prove catastrophic and there was a chance our own aircrafts could get hit.

An example of this occured on same day when our SAM’S accidently shot down one of our own MI-17 helicopter killing all the six people on board.

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