A great read, this recollection by IAF Foxbat jocks. Of a mysterious and unique aircraft that flew into history a while back. The IAF vacated that space, the stratosphere. Satellites now do the job from orbit. But "near space", will see a large number of platforms coming South from over the Himalayas. Lighter Than Air, balloon based systems, solar powered ultra long endurance HAPS UAVs, hypersonic/ high supersonic scramjet platforms, and hybrid engine based trans-domain spaceplanes that will seamlessly switch either side of the Karman line. Perhaps the next big question that can be asked of anyone and everyone in aerospace research or even operations in India is, what is India doing about it? Both, the capability to operate in near space, and the capability to deny it to the adversary.