In 1971, a sudden strike by the Pakistan Air Force jolts an Indian airbase and ignites a larger confrontation over Kashmir. Amid the chaos, the Indian side apprehends a Pakistani pilot, Sharad Kelkar as Ahmed Hussain, whose interrogation reveals a decorated past—he earned honors for killing an Indian officer in the 1965 war. This revelation sets the stage for a deeper look into a chain of choices, loyalties, and the costs of wartime decisions.
Flashbacks pull us back to 1965, where Group Captain K. O. Ahuja, portrayed by Akshay Kumar, and his teammates operate out of Adampur Airbase. Among them is T. Krishna Vijaya, nicknamed “Tabby,” a fearless, rule-flouting pilot whose brilliance shines even as his behavior tests his superiors. Tabby’s bonds feel like a surrogate brotherhood to Ahuja, and Ahuja’s senior, David Lawrence, played by Manish Chaudhary, pushes hard when intelligence suggests Pakistan has new, potent Star Striker fighters supplied by the United States. A recce team, which includes Tabby, crosses the border and discovers a cache of weapons and artillery. Tabby’s camera captures evidence even as Pakistani officers take notice, hinting at a coming clash that neither side can back down from.
From this intelligence, Ahuja argues for a preemptive strike to halt Pakistan’s timetable, a plan that faces immediate political pushback. Manish Chaudhary as Lawrence questions the human-rights implications and government permission, arguing that such aggression would carry heavy consequences. Pakistan launches a nighttime assault on Indian airbases, destroying aircraft and killing soldiers, underscoring the stakes of any future action. In response, India starts formulating a bold counterstrike aimed at crippling Pakistan’s air power, with the center of gravity located at the Sargodha Airbase where the Star Striker fighters are concentrated. A plan—codenamed Sky Force—takes shape, though fuel constraints complicate the mission, threatening the return trip.
Ahuja assembles three core assault teams, but in a moment of discipline tension, Lawrence orders Tabby to remain on standby rather than join the lead forces. The operation proceeds, and the Indian crews accomplish their objective, returning to base with mixed emotions: triumph shadowed by the absence of Tabby, who disappears during his post-mission window. The government brushes off his absence as a rebellious act, while Tabby’s wife Geeta, Sara Ali Khan, pleads with Ahuja to locate him, reminding him of a promise to watch over Tabby as if he were a younger brother. Despite relentless effort, government support remains elusive, and the mystery of Tabby’s fate lingers.
Fast forward to two decades later. A retired Group Captain Ahuja receives a pivotal parcel from Ahmed and discovers a book about the 1965 Indo-Pakistani conflict, reigniting the investigation. The team travels across borders and continents in pursuit of the truth, ultimately meeting Ahmed again in Pakistan. Ahmed recounts his closest aerial duel—the moment when an unknown Indian pilot repeatedly dodged missile traps and outmaneuvered superior technology, ultimately shooting down Ahmed’s aircraft. The revelation is staggering: the unknown pilot is Tabby, who sacrificed himself and vanished into the fog of war. With this new evidence, Tabby is recognized posthumously for extraordinary valor, earning the Maha Vir Chakra—the highest peacetime gallantry award for India—and becoming the sole recipient to receive it posthumously in this conflict.
Throughout the journey, the narrative threads between duty and memory—Ahuja’s guilt over failing to safeguard Tabby, the quiet endurance of Geeta as she holds onto the memory of a husband and friend, and the relentless pursuit of truth that finally brings Tabby’s sacrifice into the light. The film threads together the human stories behind high-stakes military operations, showing how the execution of a mission, a missing pilot, and a country’s memory can stretch across decades, shaping how heroes are remembered and honored.
