India produces evidence of F-16 use in Pakistani raid

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday presented the wreckage of AM-RAAM missile as a conclusive evidence that Pakistan had used an F-16 fighter aircraft to target military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, and said that one of the F-16 aircraft had been shot down in an aerial engagement on Wednesday morning.

The evidence was produced at a joint press conference of the three services -- Army, Navy and Air Force -- a day after the aerial engagement in which India also lost an MiG-21 aircraft.

Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor said that Pakistan has been lying over the use of F-16 aircraft for targeting Indian military installations.

"The wreckage of AM-RAAM missile (AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) was recovered from Rajouri east in Indian territory. Among all the fighter jets that Pakistan has, this missile can be carried only by F-16," Kapoor said.

"AIM-120C-5, SerNO CC12497" is inscribed on the beyond-visual-range missile wreckage. Its fragments were also used as evidence.

Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman had engaged the aircraft and fired the R-73 missile getting better in the dogfight.

Giving another evidence about use of F-16, Kapoor said: "IAF can easily find out which fighter jet is flying in our air space."

He said every jet has a particular electronic signature and the signature matched by the IAF revealed that F-16s were used in the mission by Pakistan.

"So, it can be conclusively said that F-16s were used," Kapoor added.

Incidentally,

--IANS

gd-rak/nir