 The IAF's operation was led by Group Captain Chandan Singh and utillised Mi-4 helicopters that had already been involved in the Sylhet air-lift on the night of 7 December.Through the night of 9 December, the IAF air-lifted the entire 311 Brigade.The first troops, numbering around six hundred were landed through the night of the 9th, immediately making contact with Pakistani troops north of Raipura.