In a historical first, a 3rd generation MiG-21 flown by Abhinandan shot down a modern F-16

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who flew MiG-21 Bison achieved a historical feat by shooting down F-16 on Wednesday morning. Abhinandan is set to return from Pakistan on Friday after Pakistan PM Imran Khan announced his release as a peace gesture on Thursday

On Thursday, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor confirmed that it was the MiG-21 Bison that shot down the F-16 Pakistan Air Force jet in the aerial engagement with Pakistan.

“In the aerial combat that ensued one F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force was shot down by Indian Air Force MiG 21 Bison aircraft. The F-16 crashed and fell across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Air Force lost one MiG 21 aircraft. Though the pilot ejected safely, his parachute drifted into PoJ&K, where he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army,” Kapoor said at a press conference in New Delhi.

USSR-made MiG-21 is the first mass produced supersonic jet with an affordable price tag, that has been used by more than 60 countries for almost half a decade to guard their borders. The plane weighs 7500 kg (dry) and has a total takeoff weight of 17000 kg. The Mirage 2000 has a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 (2336 kmph) and can travel 1550 km with drop tanks. The flight height is capped at 59000 ft (17km). In terms of the armament, the Mirage 2000 can carry laser guided bombs, air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and has a Thomson-CSF RDY (Radar Doppler Multi-target) radar on board.

F-16 is a brainchild of Colonel John Boyd, who along with mathematician Thomas Christie and other innovators secured the U.S. The fighter jet came into limelight when it became the first aircraft to pull 9-g manoeuvres, reaching a maximum speed over Mach 2. It has maximum high speed of 2120 kmph, a length of 15.06 metre and a wingspan of 9.96 metre. The plane weighs 8570 kg (dry) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 19200 kg. The F-16 can carry rockets, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles and air-to-ship missiles along with a wide variety of bombs and also has a radar on-board.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has not admitted to either having crossed the LoC on Wednesday or using F-16 jets in the aerial dogfight. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his statements, has maintained that PAF jets remained on the Pakistani side of the LoC. He did not refer to the use of F-16 jets.

Amidst significant claims made by both sides, former aviation personnel’s, defence analysts and defence journalists have also applauded the feat achieved by Abhinandan

According to a news report in Live Fist Defence, Former MiG-21 fighter pilot & author-historian Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam said, “An IAF Bison shot down an F-16 with a close combat missile the R-73 and during the pursuit crossed the LC and was brought down by ground fire. It was classic aerial action and of great significance that an F-16 was downed by an IAF Mig-21.”

“It’s historic, but at the same time I am not too surprised. The Bison is among the most capable of all MiG-21 variants, and I would put money on a capable pilot in a Bison cockpit any day,” said Angad Singh Aviation photographer, author and analyst.

Another journalist from Italy David Cenciotti, wrote, “If confirmed, it’s significant, as it would prove once again that when it deals with aerial engagement, not always does the more modern and capable weapon system (in this case the F-16 Block 52) wins. Several factors must be taken into consideration: pilot skills; support from other assets (including fighters and AEW aircraft), ground radars, etc. Above all, RoE play an essential role: if the Rules of Engagement require a positive VID of the opponent, a fighter might be forced to come WVR (Within Visual Range) where a MiG-21 can be particularly threatening. That’s why even 5th gen aircraft regularly train with legacy adversaries.”

Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, veteran pilot and Additional Director General of India’s Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) told Livefist, “For the first time, a third generation aircraft has shot down a fly by wire modern aircraft armed with a much better weapons package and avionics suite. Just goes to prove that the man behind the machine counts — and counts massively. And when it comes to the IAF, adversaries should have no doubts.”

“While we don’t know the exact circumstances in which the IAF pilot was shot down, let’s not for a moment forget that he shot down an F-16 first (possibly an F-16 Block 50) with an upgraded MiG-21 Bison, a jet which first entered service with the IAF in the sixties,” said Vishnu Som, defence editor with NDTV.