Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in February 2019 as a Wing Commander, will be awarded the Vir Chakra for his service today in an investiture ceremony by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.
In 2019, when Abhinandan Varthaman was a Wing Commander, he got involved in a ruthless battle with a Pakistani fighter jet amid the aerial conflicts that were underway between Indian and Pakistan at the time, following the Pulwama attack.
He shot down an F-16 over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during India’s Balakot air strike but was taken captive by the Pakistan Army after his plane was shot down by enemy forces. Abhinandan was a Wing Commander back then.
Abhinandan is credited to have been the only Mig-21 pilot ever to have shot down an F-16.
Amid the fight between the two fighter planes, Abhinandan Varthaman brought down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet in aerial combat, after which his aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force. He had landed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and was taken into custody by the Pakistani Army.
Abhinandan’s unit 51 Squadron also received a unit citation for its role in thwarting the Pakistan Air Force’s aerial attack on February 27, 2019. India had carried out the strikes in response to a Jaish-e-Mohammed attack on a CRPF convoy.
