New Delhi, September 2: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa today flew a sortie on a MiG-21 fighter aircraft with Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was taken prisoner by Pakistan after being shot down during a rare dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets earlier this year.
Today’s sortie marks the successful return to flying of Abhinandan, who was undergoing intense medical tests following his release from Pakistan. Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down on February 27 while responding to an offensive from the Pakistan Air Force.
The Pakistan Air Force attempted entering Indian airspace and targeting military infrastructure in response to the February 26 Balakot airstrike that saw the Indian Air Force enter Pakistan and bomb a terrorist facility located in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Abhinandan was flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter during that dogfight and shot down after he took down a Pakistani F-16. Abhinandan ejected from his fighter jet after being shot and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken prisoner.
He was released two days later, a development that significantly cooled tensions between India and Pakistan, which had come close to the brink of armed conflict in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack (the Balakot airstrike was seen as a response to the terror attack).
Abhinandan Varthaman was conferred with the Vir Chakra for his heroics during the February 27 dogfight.
Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa who flew today’s sortie with Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is also a MiG-21 pilot and had flown the fighter jet during the 1999 Kargil conflict, while commanding the IAF’s 17 Squadron.
