IAF releases Radar image to prove Pak F-16 fighter jet was shot down in dogfight

New Delhi, Apr 08: The Indian Air Force on Monday released radar images to counter Pakistan's claim that it hadn't lost a US-manufactured F-16 fighter jet in the February 27 dogfight.

Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, at a media briefing, showed radar images to assert that an F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was shot down by the Indian Air Force.

The fresh evidence was released to counter Islamabad's recent assertion that the F-16 was not struck by the Indian forces during the brief aerial showdown.

The IAF has more credible information and evidence that is clearly indicative of the fact that PAF has lost one F-16 in the air action on February 27, he said.

"Certain official statements made by the director general of Inter-Service Public Relations also corroborate IAF," Kapoor said. He said that Pakistan's ISPR had confirmed on the same day that two pilots were captured.

"All this shows that two aircraft had gone down in the area. One of them was MiG-21, the other was F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force. IAF has more credible evidence that Pakistan has lost an F-16," Kapoor said.

However, he added, the Air Force is keeping this evidence confidential due to security reasons.

Last week, American news publication Foreign Policy contradicted India quoting unnamed US defence officials as saying that personnel had recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none missing."