Ex-US Air Force Pilot Backs India Over Pakistan If Tensions Escalate

News18

08-05-2025

Last Updated:
Dale Stark, a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Air Force and an expert A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, said his 'money is on the Indians.'
A day after India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terrorist launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a former US Air Force pilot said his 'money is on the Indians" if tensions escalate.
'I've flown with both Indian and Pakistani fighter pilots during my career. I'll just say my money's on the Indians if this continues to escalate," Dale Stark, a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Air Force and an expert A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, wrote on X on Thursday.
I've flown with both Indian and Pakistani fighter pilots during my career. I'll just say my money's on the Indians if this continues to escalate.— Dale Stark (@DaleStarkA10) May 7, 2025
Responding to a comment, he said the Indian army 'was way better."
They were way better. Stark, who served three combat tours in Afghanistan in 2006, 2010, and 2014, began his career as an aircraft mechanic before climbing the ranks to officer status.
His post went viral in no time.
A user commented on X, 'Indian Air Force pilots are rock stars."
Indian Air Force pilots are rock stars. At par with RAF. @IAF_MCC
— Jai Hind (@kannandelhi) May 7, 2025
Another agreed, saying, 'Indian pilots are thorough professionals. They know what to do and they will do without any religious fervour or over-enthusiasm. Moreover, India has a vast and diverse terrain to train them. They are the best."
https://x.com/pankajsharma01/status/1920272215859216610
Someone wrote, 'I was there in '98. Fully agree. Both fierce fighters, but the Indian military is vastly more disciplined."
I was there in 98. Fully agree. Both fierce fighters, but the Indian military is vastly more disciplined.
— C/SAR Diver
'I've always heard that the Indian Air Force is top notch," a comment read.
I've always heard that the Indian Air Force is top notch.
— Chuck (@StilltheWarlord) May 8, 2025
India's pre-dawn offensive on Wednesday reportedly killed around 100 terrorists and destroyed key terror infrastructure across the LoC. The operation was in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people. Operation Sindoor has been described by defence experts as a 'calibrated pre-emptive response" aimed at dismantling terror launchpads before they could become operational.
The situation intensified quickly. Later that day, at least 13 people, including a soldier and women and children, were killed and 59 others injured in heavy cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.
Hours later, the Indian armed forces thwarted a major retaliation attempt by the Pakistani military, which tried to strike multiple military targets across 15 cities in northern and western India using drones and missiles. According to the Defence Ministry, Indian forces managed to intercept the attacks and destroyed a Pakistani air defence system in Lahore.
Pakistan's attempted targets included key strategic locations such as Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj. 'The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks," the ministry said in a statement.
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