Saw Pakistan's F16 going down: Abhinandan Varthaman during debriefing

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the pilot who let off an R73 missile from his MiG21 fighter jet in an aerial combat over Nowshera last week, has said in his debriefing that he saw a Pakistan Air Force F16 going down on the other side of the border.

Varthaman has shared details of the dogfight between Indian and Pakistani jets when F16 fighters fired multiple long-range missiles.

Pakistan released Varthaman last Friday after he was captured in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) where the MiG21 that he was flying was shot down. His MiG21 was hit likely by a Pakistani long-range AMRAAM missile, forcing him to eject.


Sources said that in his detailed debriefing Varthaman corroborated that he got a lock onto the Pakistani jet with his R73 missile that he had confirmed to ground controllers and that the enemy fighter jet was hit.

The India Air Force (IAF) has said in an official statement that Pakistani F16 jets had fired several AIM120 AMRAAM missiles during the aerial battle to target its planes that had gone to counter the air intrusion.

“The use of F16 by PAF and multiple launches of AMRAAM were conclusively observed during the combat. Prompt and correct tactical action by Su30 aircraft, in response to AMRAAM launch, defeated the missiles,” the IAF said.

Sources said at least four AMRAAM missiles were recorded in the air but none of the other fighter jets were hit after they took evasive measures and turned away. It is not clear why other Indian jets in the air — Su30MKIs and Mirage 2000s were part of the defending package — did not engage their long-range weapons onto the enemy aircraft. Under standard circumstances, fighter jets are not authorised to engage targets flying well within enemy territory.