Clearing the air by refuting claims by US, IAF asserts it shot down Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jet
New Delhi, April 6: Clearing the air, India on Friday asserted that it shot down the F-16 fighter jet in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir on February 27. Refuting the reports given by the US publication, India cited that the fighter jet was shot down by MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who brought down the jet.
India rubbished claims that all of Pakistan’s US-origin fighter jets were accounted for and that this was done at the behest of the US authorities with the IAF stressing it had enough credible evidence to show an F-16 did not return to its base in Pakistan.
Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor, assistant chief of air staff (Operations) said, “During the aerial engagement that followed, one MiG-21 Bison of the IAF shot down one F-16 in Nowshera sector.” He added the Indian army confirmed two sightings of ejections at two different places that day.
“The two sightings were at places separated by at least 8-10 km. One was an IAF MiG-21 Bison and the other a PAF aircraft. Electronic signatures gathered by us indicate that the PAF aircraft was F-16,” he said.
On February 28, in a rare tri-service press conference, Air Vice Marshal Kapoor had told reporters that some parts of the engines and drop tanks shown by Pakistan didn’t belong to India’s downed MiG-21, which confirmed that an F-16 was hit. Showing the operation chart made by the Air Borne Warning and Control System (AWACS), top IAF officials said there were only F-16s in the sector where Wing Commander Abhinandan was operating.
One of the pictures shows a MiG-21 Bison having crossed the Line of Control. At the time, the aircraft was in hot pursuit of Pakistan F-16s, and four blips showing four PAF aircraft were visible. Giving details of the radio transmission picked up by the Indian military, which clearly shows Pakistan soldiers talking about two ‘parinda‘ (aircraft) and two ‘parinde wale‘ (pilots).
Besides the initial video of locals who said two pilots were caught, the sighting by the Indian army and videos showing two parachutes all indicate that a Pakistan jet was shot down. While the first parachute was seen in General Area Sabzkot, the second parachute was spotted in General Area Tandar. The distance between the two is about 5-6 kms, a source said.
The statement by the IAF came hours after prominent American magazine Foreign Policy said that a US count of Pakistan’s F-16s reportedly found none of the jets “missing”, and all were “present and accounted for”. The finding by the US “directly contradicts” India’s claim that the IAF shot down a Pakistan F-16 during the dogfight over Jammu and Kashmir.
