IAF denies US report as false, claims F-16 shot down

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on April 5 said it had shot down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft on February 27.

An IAF statement issued here Friday said, during the aerial engagement on the day, one MiG 21 Bison of the IAF had shot down an F-16 in the Nowshera sector over the LoC. The report comes a day after an American publication claimed that none of the F-16s with Pakistan were ‘missing’ and all the fighter planes were ‘present and accounted for.’

The finding by the US on the ground in Pakistan ‘directly contradicts’ India’s claim that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter during an aerial dogfight on February 27. The Indian side claimed that its radars had detected the digital signatures of the F-16 and reiterated that the aircraft was ‘shot down.’