Balakot airstrike ‘hero’ Abhinandan Varthaman leaves IAF, joins Goa-based private airline

The fighter pilot had shot to fame after he challenged a fleet of Pakistani fighters & forced their retreat in 2019, was captured for three days after his jet was shot down.

File photo: Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was relieved from the IAF in March this year | PTI photo

New Delhi: Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot to fame during the 2019 Balakot strikes by challenging a fleet of Pakistani fighters and forcing their retreat, has taken premature retirement from the force and joined a Goa-based regional airline as a pilot.

Varthaman, who flew the Su-30 MKI and later the MiG 21, will now fly ATR aircraft for FLY91.

He was relieved from the IAF in March this year, and has subsequently joined the airline.

In February 2019, he was held captive for three days in Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an air duel. He also took down an F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force, just before his jet was shot. 

His soldier-like conduct post his capture had earned him respect across the world. He was subsequently awarded the Vir Chakra. 

What happened in 2019

In the early hours of 27 February 2019, about 25 Pakistani fighter jets including F-16s, backed by the SAAB airborne warning and control systems (AWACS), headed to target Indian military installations in response to the IAF strike on Balakot the night before. 

Left to defend the Indian airspace at that time were two Su-30 MKI in south of Pir Panjal, and two upgraded Mirages in the north of the mountains. They were outnumbered and outgunned.

That is when IAF’s Barnala-based Integrated Air Command and Control System ordered the scrambling of six MiG-21s from the Srinagar airport. As the MiGs climbed in the shadow of the Pir Panjal range, Pakistan’s AWACS failed to detect them. The Pakistani fighters were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the MiGs.

There was complete panic on the Pakistani side as more Indian aircraft came to the scene. Pakistani pilots, who suddenly broke into Punjabi rather than sticking to the military codes, fired about 11 H-4 glide-bombs, weighing 1,000 kg each, at Indian military installations, none of which hit the target. The controllers on board the AWACS also broke out in Punjabi.

According to the IAF, the emergence of Abhinandan and his team surprised Pakistan and forced them to release their bombs in panic.