In the aftermath of their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chinese in 1962, the Indian armed forces had been revamped and geared to try to avenge that debacle. Ready by 1965 for any redeeming military adventures offered by opportunity, they soon settled upon the desolate mud flats and salt wastes of the remote Rann of Kutch as the next testing ground, where in recent years there had been reports of oil prospects in the region. In Pakistan's view: ''The territory which belongs to Pakistan and which India disputes, comprises an area of 3,500 square miles, situated roughly north of the 24th parallel. The dispute pertains to the northern half of the Rann of Kutch which formed part of Sind and was under the administrative control of the former Sind Province of India. In 1947, upon partition of the subcontinent, India laid claims to it; as the border between Sind and Kutch had not been clearly demarcated during the British period, she seized upon the boundary dispute between the former state of Kutch and the British Indian Government of Sind to claim the entire Rann for herself. Beyond staking a claim, however, India did not take any action to occupy the area whereas Pakistan continued to exercise jurisdiction over the the territory and also maintained a Police post at Chaad Bet. It was not until 1956 that Indian forces, operating under air cover, overwhelmed the Pakistani post and dislodged it from Chaad Bet. In order to avoid a clash, and in the hope of reaching an amicable settlement with India, the Government of Pakistan only lodged a protest with the former. Nothing came of it and the dispute continued".

In April 65, India set out to occupy the disputed territory by armed force. She launched her action with three infantry brigades representing a strength larger than a Pak Army division. For immediate support of the force, India could call on:

Against this line-up, the PAF had two squadrons each of F-86s and B-57s Canbera and a detachment of F-104s, based at Mauripur. Because of the superiority of its equipment, the PAF contingent was considered to be a fair match for the opposing force. And so started a chain of events which would lead to the first full scale war between the two antagonists. Due to India's persisting unwillingness to reconcile herself to the creation of Pakistan, and due to the festering sore of the Kashmir dispute, such a confrontation had remained barely below the surface.

Indian designs in the area, betrayed by the military preparations which had started in January 65, were exposed by an unsuccessful assault on Ding within Pakistan territory on the night of 4/5 April. On 8 April the Indians launched another attack on the post but failed to take it. All actions so far were of a limited nature, but in order to prevent the situation from deterioriating further, Pakistan made a proposal, on 9 April, for a peaceful settlement of the issue. When there was no response from the Indians, Pakistani ground forces took the precaution of moving into an area between Chaad Bet and Biar Bet, to prevent the Indian forces from attempting the complete military occupation of the Rann.

From 15 April 65 all operational aircraft at the two largest bases, Mauripur and Sargodha, were ordered to operate from wartime dispersals in combat readiness, and their operations rooms, like the Air Defence Operations Centre (ADOC) at Air Headquarters, were to be manned round the clock. Personnel of 229 and 234 Squadrons, the mobile complements of Badin, the Sector Operations Centre (SOC) in the south, were to move to their war locations and maintain a 24hour watch.

On 24th April, Indian forces, attacked Pakistani forces around the Indian-held post of Biar Bet. Here again the Indian Army suffered a humiliating reverse and the fighting virtually stopped on 27 April 65 after Britain's diplomatic intervention. As it happened, there were no air operations of any significance during the Rann of Kutch dispute but as a result of Desert Hawk, the PAF was poised for instant action. Armed combat air patrols and reconnaissance sorties by F-86Fs from Mauripur, reinforced by two F-104A Starfighters on detachment from Sargodha, initiated from 17 April onwards, were kept well behind the disputed frontier, to avoid provocation, although it seems that the IAF was less careful in this respect. On 24 April, for example after early warning from Badin, a section of two Sabres was scrambled from Mauripur to intercept a single aircraft which was heading deep into Pakistan air space. By the time the Sabres had made visual contact, with some difficulty in the poor visibility characteristic of the Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan areas at that time of the year because of dust in suspension and haze, the intruder was 50 miles inside Pakistan territory apparently heading for Karachi. Visual confirmation that the target was an Ouragan fighter-bomber bearing the green, white and saffron roundels of the IAF and flying at about 2,000ft above the ground resulted from a warning pass made by the PAF Sabres. Before they could position themselves for an attack, however the Ouragan lowered undercarriage and flaps in surrender and made a forced landing near the village of Jangshahi. Apart from wiping off its wheels, the Ouragan received little damage on landing. (Add picture Ouragan.jpg and machine gun.jpg here). Flight Lieutenant Rana Lal Chand Sidda of 51 Auxillary Squadron, IAF Jamnagar, remained a prisoner until 14 August 65. He was set free on the occasion of Independence Day but his Ouragan was kept as a memento. Although forgiven by Pakistan for his hostile act, he did not find India so generous. He was eventually dismissed from service, presumably for being instrumental in prematurely exposing Indian intentions. The damaged Ouragan is now among the main exhibits in the PAF Museum.

Two other air space infringements by IAF aircraft took place before the cease-fire. Both could have resulted in a serious escalation of the air war but for restraint on the part of the Pakistanis. On one occasion, an IAF reconnaissance Canberra crossed the border north-east of Sargodha, and was trailed visually for more than 10 minutes by an F-104A Starfighter, flown by the late F/O Mushtaq. In the absence of orders for the destruction of the enemy, however, it was allowed to return to India unscathed. After another aircraft had dived on Pakistani troops behind the battle line, and had drawn some ground fire, two B-57 Canberras were scrambled from Mauripur at the request of the Divisional HQ, for immediate reprisals. When it was discovered that the IAF aircraft had not actually attacked the Pakistani troops. However the B-57s were recalled, before they had reached the battle area.