President Ram Nath Kovind presented Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman with the Vir Chakra at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday.
President Ram Nath Kovind presented Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman the Vir Chakra on Monday during an investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet during a duel over the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27, 2019.
After the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra, the Vir Chakra is India’s third highest wartime gallantry award.
A Kirti Chakra was bestowed posthumously to Sapper Prakash Jadhav for valour in a counterinsurgency operation in Kashmir three years ago, among other decorations presented by Kovind.
Shaurya Chakra was awarded posthumously to Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal and Naib Subedar Sombir.
After the Ashok Chakra, the Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra are the country’s second and third highest peacetime gallantry medals.
Abhinandan’s citation read, “Displaying exceptional air combat acumen and knowledge of the enemy’s tactics, Abhinandan scanned the low-altitude airspace with his airborne intercept (AI) radar and picked up an enemy aircraft that was flying low to ambush the Indian fighter interceptor aircraft… Abhinandan alerted the other formation pilots towards this surprise threat.”
He was then promoted to the rank of group captain earlier this month after serving as a wing commander. A group captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) is the equivalent of an army colonel.
The combat in which Abhinandan was involved occurred a day after Mirage-2000s from the Indian Air Force hit targets in Pakistan’s Balakot in reaction to the Pulwama suicide assault in Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) members on February 14, 2019.
Abhinandan Varthaman, then 35, made military aviation history when he shot down an F-16 fighter jet just seconds before his MiG-21 Bison was damaged by a missile, causing him to eject.
Experts praised it as the first-ever kill of an F-16 by a MiG-21 Bison – two different eras of fighter jets.
He was apprehended after bailing out of his plane, and Pakistan handed him over to India on March 1, 2019, after nearly 60 hours of detention.
On Independence Day in 2019, he was awarded the Vir Chakra. His citation stated that despite Pakistan’s “immense numerical and technological superiority,” he bravely engaged the Pakistani aircraft package, and his bold movements threw the enemy aircraft into tactical confusion.
The citation said, “Despite being captured by the enemy, he continued to display exceptional resolve in dealing with the adversary in a stoic, brave and dignified manner till he was repatriated on March 1, 2019.”
When a large Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft package was discovered travelling towards the LoC in February 2019, Abhinandan Varthaman was assigned to a MiG-21 Bison squadron and was on “operational readiness platform” duty at an air force station in Srinagar.
Advanced beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles and sophisticated air-to-ground standoff weapons were carried by the hostile fighters.
Five minutes after the item was identified, Abhinandan was dispatched to intercept it.
“He then consolidated the riposte, by gathering his wingman in an offensive formation against the hostile Pakistani aircraft now dropping weapons on Indian Army positions. This audacious and aggressive manoeuvre forced the enemy aircraft into tactical chaos,” it further said.
The citation said the wing commander then pursued a retreating enemy fighter bomber aircraft and in the ensuing aerial combat, shot down an F-16. “However, in the melee, one of the enemy aircraft fired multiple advanced BVR missiles, one of which hit his aircraft forcing him to eject in enemy territory.”
On February 26, IAF’s Mirages hit three targets in Balakot with five Israeli-origin Spice 2000 bombs with penetrator warheads that allowed them to pierce through the rooftops before exploding inside to cause maximum damage.
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