Shortly before the outbreak of hostilities in 1965, Flight Lieutenant Chopra was sent on technical detachment to 8 Squadron based at Adampur. During the war he was a member of the Black Formation . Its members were Madhukar Mickey Jatar, Vinod Jimmy Bhatia and Vinod Pat Patney. Flight Lieutenant Chopra flew a total of 23 operational sorties during the war. All four members of the formation received Vir Chakras for their efforts during the 1965 war.