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Indian Air Force To Retire Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman's MiG-21 Squadron By September End
Writer: Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
India, 20 Sep 2022 9:45 AM GMT | Updated 21 Sep 2022 4:03 AM GMT
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While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
Creatives : Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Before his MiG-21 Bison jet was mowed, Varthaman had gunned down Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet. He was conferred India's third-highest wartime gallantry medal, Vir Chakra, on Independence Day in 2019.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to retire its Srinagar-based Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 squadron 'Sword Arms' that Wing Commander (Wg Cdr) Abhinandan Varthaman was a part of when he had knocked down Pakistan-based F-16 combat aircraft a day after the February 2019 Balakot strike, sourced stated on Monday (September 19).
Sword Arms' is one of its one of the four remaining squadrons of waning MiG-21 fighter jets, and the no. 51 Squadron is set to be phased out by the end of September, "as per the plan". The remaining three squadrons of MiG-21 will be retired by 2025, said the defence sources.
Balakot Strike 2019
Around two weeks after the Pulwama terror attack, in Balakot, on February 26, 2019, IAF fight jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist training camp. Pakistan, on February 27, retaliated against the attack by attempting to target Indian military installations.
Then Wg Cdr Varthaman had taken to the skies to successfully oppose an aerial attack launched by rivals and was enthralled in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during aerial combat, reported NDTV.
Before his MiG-21 Bison jet was mowed down, Varthaman had gunned down Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet. He was conferred India's third-highest wartime gallantry medal, Vir Chakra, on Independence Day in 2019.
MiG-21 Fighter Jets
The fighter jets were inducted into IAF over forty years ago, wherein many of these aircraft were lost in crashes.
Though the Soviet-era Russian jets have also been in the headlines in the last several years for multiple air crashes causing the death of pilots, the sources said, "when an IAF aircraft is air-borne, it means it is fully serviceable".
A source said, "Ageing is a factor, but we read reports that even a modern aircraft can crash. A crash can happen due to multiple factors, including weather."
And, the retiring 'Sword Arms', also the Srinagar-based No. 51 squadron, is "happening as per the plan", he stated while also adding that the old fleet was in operation also as new ones were awaited.
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