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IAF asserts it has 'irrefutable evidence' of shooting down Pak F-16, shows radar images
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday said it had electronic intercepts, radio transcripts and sightings from ground posts to prove that it shot down an F-16 jet of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during the February 27 aerial combat.
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New Delhi
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday reiterated that it shot down an F-16 jet of Pakistan Air Force during the February 27 aerial combat and showed radar images of the engagement to assert that it has "irrefutable evidence" of downing the enemy jet.
The Indian Air Force said it has more credible information and evidence to prove that Pakistan Air Force had lost an F-16 in air battle over Line of Control (LoC) on Feb27 apart from electronic intercepts, radio transcripts and sightings from ground posts but was withholding them due to confidentiality and security concerns.
Holding a second briefing in two days, IAF's assistant chief of staff Operations (space) RGK Kapoor said that multiple evidences show that two aircraft went down on February 27 a day after IAF carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Pakistan's Balakot.
Several slides of graphic captures from airborne warning and control system (AWACS) were shown to the media.
"The IAF has irrefutable evidence of not only the fact that F-16 was used by Pakistan Air Force on February 27, but also that an IAF Mig 21 Bison shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16," Air Vice Marshal RG Kapoor said in a statement.
He, however, did not take any question on the issue.
- According to Air vice marshal Kapoor, radar images showed that an F-16 crashed and fell across the LoC in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir after being shot by Mig 21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who also took a hit and got captured after the dogfight.
- Two Army posts in the Jhangar sector under Nowshera brigade saw two separate parachutes, the first on the western side in general area Sabz Kot and the second on the southwest in general area Tandar. The two locations are around 8-10 km apart.
- The parachute that fell in Sabz Kot was of the PAF pilot while Abhinandan fell in Tandar.
- These facts are corroborated by Pakistan army's propaganda wing director general Inter Service Public Relation (DG-ISPR) who first acknowledged that two pilots were captured but later retracted that only one Indian pilot was in custody.
The radar images and intercepts also corroborated the facts, said IAF emphasising that it had more proof, but it not being shared due to security concerns.
On Friday, the IAF had asserted that it shot down an F-16 fighter jet of Pakistan during the dogfight, following a report in a leading US news magazine which contradicted India's contention.
"There is no doubt that two aircraft went down in the aerial engagement on February 27, one of which was a Bison of IAF while the other was an F-16 of PAF conclusively identified by its electronic signature and radio transcripts," the IAF official said.
Last week, leading American magazine 'Foreign Policy' reported that a US count of the F-16s with Pakistan has found that none of them are missing, contradicting India's claim that one of its fighter jets shot down a Pakistani F-16 during the aerial dogfight on February 27.
In the report, the magazine said two senior US defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation told it that American personnel recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none of the planes missing.
The report contradicted the claim made by New Delhi that the IAF shot down an F-16 jet of Pakistan.
The Government has been maintaining that Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman had engaged with one of the Pakistani F-16s and shot it down before his Mig-21 Bison was downed.
Varthaman was captured by Pakistan and was released after spending nearly 60 hours in Pakistani custody.
The Indian Air Force had on February 28 displayed pieces of an AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed the US-manufactured fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir.
Indian Air Force has been forcefully asserting that it shot down a Pakistani F-16 during the dogfight. Pakistan has denied that it lost any F-16 jet during the aerial combat.
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