Here's your 5-point cheat sheet on combat air patrols:
CAPs, short for combat air patrols, refer to fighter jets flying on a predetermined flight path and checking for enemy air activity along the flight path.
The fighter jets on CAPs may be allowed to shoot down aircraft identified as hostile if they think they are under threat inside their own airspace or if they are fired upon.
Combat air patrols are flown in formation of two, four or more fighter jets.
Fighter jets on CAPs may get guidance from ground controllers and airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) to intercept hostile aircraft in the best possible way.
Indian Air Force (IAF) jets regularly flew CAPs near the Line of Control (LoC) during the Kargil war in 1999. The IAF's MiG-29s were able to lock on to Pakistani F-16s during the Kargil war, discouraging them from coming near the LoC.
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