E-Paper
Wing Commander Abhinandan fit, could fly fighters within a fortnight
Bangalore-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine - the final certifying authority on the fitness of a pilot – declared Wing Commander Varthaman fit to fly.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistan Air Force over Nowshera in Jammu on February 27 and spent two days in Pakistani detention, will be flying the MiG-21 fighter within the next fortnight, senior officials aware of the details who did not want to be named said.
The Bangalore-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine - the final certifying authority on the fitness of a pilot – declared Wing Commander Varthaman fit to fly.
Varthaman was part of a team sent to counter incoming Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters comprising the F-16s, among others, on February 27. The day before, on February 26, Indian fighters comprising Mirage-2000s used precision munitions to target a terror training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot, in Pakistan’s Kyber Phaktunkhwa province, in reprisal for the February 14 suicide car bombing that left 40 Indian troopers dead.
Varthaman, who shot down a US-made F-16 fighter during the dogfight, was taken prisoner by Pakistan after he ejected into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The PAF used the AM -120 or AMRAAM missiles during the dogfight. Only the US made-F16 are capable of firing these missiles.
Pakistan denied having lost an aircraft. Nonetheless, the PHALCON airborne warning and control system that was assisting the Indian fighter package had picked up the F-16 going down after the dogfight.
“There is some paperwork that needs to be done before Wing Commander Abhinandan can start flying and also he has to do a short refresher course since he has away from flying for a few months. We expect him to start flying after a fortnight,” a senior IAF official, who did not want to be named, said.
The Indian Air Force has recommended a gallantry award – Vir Chakra – the third-highest wartime gallantry award - for Varthaman. The announcement is expected to be made on 15 August.
Wing Commander Varfthaman, who was posted at the Srinagar airbase, was moved away from the Kashmir valley because of a security threat and is now posted in a frontline airbase in Rajasthan.
