Abhi’s MiG-21 downed F-16, have proof: MEA

New Delhi, March 9

An Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison, piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft and there are eyewitness accounts as well as electronic evidence to prove it, the Ministry of External Affairs said today.

It also said evidence on the use of F-16 jets by Pakistan was there in the form of parts of an AMRAAM missile recovered from the site, which is carried only by F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, at a media briefing, said: “Only one aircraft was lost by us. If, as Pakistan claims, they have a video recording of the downing of a second Indian aircraft, why have they not shown it to the international media even after more than one week?”

He said Pakistan should explain why it continued to deny that its F-16 had been shot down.

In the aerial combat, India had lost the MiG-21 and its pilot Wg Cdr Varthaman was captured by Pakistan. Pakistan claimed it downed two Indian jets, and rejected IAF’s assertion that an F-16 was shot down by it during the dogfight. — PTI