Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Dhanoa Reveals Kargil War Lessons, GPS Issues In Exclusive
A very important retired Indian Air Force leader named BS Dhanoa talked to the news channel Times Now.
He talked about a war called the Kargil War, which happened in 1999.
The Indian Air Force's part in that war was called Operation Safed Sagar.
He said India needed technology on its side to do well.
He talked about precision weapons, drones, satellites and special cameras that help see the enemy.
He said these tools helped India fix some problems it had during the war.
He also explained why GPS did not work properly during Kargil.
He said the trouble was caused by map differences and small built-in errors in the systems.
He said the problem was not that the United States switched off GPS on purpose.
So, in his view, the GPS trouble was an accident, not a trick by another country.
Former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa reflected on the Kargil War and Operation Safed Sagar in a mega exclusive with Times Now.
Dhanoa said technology had to be on India's side, highlighting precision weapons, self-protection systems, UAVs, satellites and advanced reconnaissance.
He said these capabilities helped India overcome key deficiencies during the conflict.
He explained that GPS challenges in Kargil stemmed from map-datum differences and built-in system errors.
Dhanoa said the GPS issues were not the result of deliberate US interference.
- Who
- Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, former Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, speaking to Times Now.
- What
- A retrospective on Operation Safed Sagar and the Kargil War, covering technology lessons and the causes of GPS issues.
- When
- Kargil War in 1999; the interview date is not specified in the article.
- Where
- Kargil, India.
- Why
- To share lessons from the conflict, including the need for advanced technology and the technical rather than deliberate explanation for GPS failures.
Technical-error explanation
Deliberate interference theory
Cause of GPS failures during Kargil
Technical-error explanation
Dhanoa attributes the GPS problems to map-datum differences and built-in system errors.
Deliberate interference theory
A view Dhanoa rejects holds that the GPS failures resulted from deliberate US interference.
- Interviewee
- Former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa
- Role
- Former Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force
- Outlet
- Times Now (mega exclusive)
- Conflict
- Kargil War (1999)
- Air Force Operation
- Operation Safed Sagar
- Key capabilities cited
- Precision weapons, self-protection systems, UAVs, satellites, advanced reconnaissance
- GPS issue cause
- Map-datum differences and built-in system errors
- Excluded cause
- Deliberate US interference