IAF Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan May Soon Get His Wings Back

IAF wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman is likely to return to the cockpit as a fighter pilot soon.

Updated: April 20, 2019 4:07 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Ashna Kumar

IAF Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan May Soon Get His Wings Back

New Delhi: Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is most likely to get his wings back or be given the clearance to return as a fighter pilot to the cockpit, according to reports.

A report in the Hindustan Times states that there is a ‘good chance’ of Wing Commander Abhinandan resuming duties as a fighter once the Bengaluru-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) gives a go-ahead.

The 35-year-old IAF pilot is set to undergo a series of medical tests at IAM, sometime in the coming weeks.

Abhinandan was captured by the Pakistan Army on February 27, after he engaged in an aerial dogfight with Pakistan Air Force aircraft, who were violating the Indian air space. Before being shot, Wing Commander Abhinandan downed an F-16 of the PAF by his Mig-21 Bison.

The sources said that at 9.45 p.m. on Wednesday, a sizeable force of Pakistan Air Force jets – over 20 in number – flew from a number of bases in Pakistan and approached the Indian air space.

Some crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and launched some laser-guided bombs. Their target was military installations but they missed narrowly because they could not come closer.

This, the sources said, happened against the backdrop of Imran Khan’s claim that Pakistan wanted to show its strength but it was false because their actual target were military installations.

The IAF pilot walked back into India via the Wagah border on March 1 after spending nearly 60 hours in Pakistan Army’s captivity.

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