The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reiterated that it shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet during the air action on February 27 in the Nowshera sector near the Line of Control (LoC). The IAF statement followed an article in US-based Foreign Policy which claimed that the United States had counted the F-16 aircraft with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and found that no fighter jet was missing in its inventory.
IAF, sources said, based its claim on circumstantial evidence. This is because camera and radar images, which prove that the F-16 was shot down, have been lost with the Mig-21 Bison aircraft — piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan — which crashed on the Pak side of the LoC, officials said.
IAF sources said the AWACS images clearly showed that only F-16 aircraft were in the vicinity of the Mig-21 Bison piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan while JF17s were in the north.
The aerial engagement took place west of Jhangar on the LoC and Wing Commander Abhinandan fired a R73 Archer missile.
Images of the fired missile posted by Pak Army show that the warhead of one missile had been initiated by a proximity fuse, presumably after hitting the F-16. Moreover, The Indian Express saw two AWACS pictures, taken eight seconds apart, which show an F-16 missing.
That the missing aircraft was an F-16, sources said, was also confirmed by the electronic signature and radio telephony monitoring of various PAF aircraft. Moreover, images and videos posted on social media platforms by Pakistan show the debris of the wreckage which does not pertain to a Mig-21 Bison fighter jet.
“Indian forces have confirmed sighting ejection at two different places on 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 an F-16,” the IAF statement added.
As per IAF sources, the Army witnessed the first parachute – of Wing Commander Abhinandan as he ejected after his Mig21 was shot down – coming down in General Area Sabzkot where he was captured by 7 Northern Light Infantry (NLI) of Pakistan Army. The second parachute was witnessed in General Area Tandar, which coincides with the last location of the missing F-16 aircraft.
IAF sources said the second parachute was of the F-16 pilot who was taken to the Corps Military Hospital, as DGISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor had initially announced that two Indian pilots were in its captivity.