Report says US count none of Pak F-16 fighter jets missing; IAF sticks to its stand

A US count of Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets has found that none of them are missing, contradicting India's claim that one of its war planes downed a Pakistani F-16 during an aerial dogfight on February 27, a leading American magazine reported, even as the IAF on Friday stuck to its stand and said it had conclusive proof.

Two senior US defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation told the Foreign Policy magazine that American personnel recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none of the planes missing.

"The findings directly contradict the account of Indian Air Force officials, who said that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman managed to shoot down a Pakistani F-16 before his own plane was downed by a Pakistani missile," the report said Thursday.

"It is possible that in the heat of combat, Varthaman, flying a vintage MiG-21 Bison, got a lock on the Pakistani F-16, fired, and genuinely believed he scored a hit," the report said.

The report said that evidence also suggests that Pakistan's F-16s were involved in the aerial battle with the Indian Air Force and only the F-16 can shoot a US-made AIM-120 air-to-air missile.

Reacting to the report, The Indian Air Force Friday asserted that it had shot down an F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force on February 27 during aerial combat.

In a statement in New Delhi, the IAF said, "during the aerial engagement, one MiG 21 Bison of the IAF shot down an F-16 in Nowshera sector."
He further said: "Even if F-16 have been used as at that point in time complete PAF was airborne including F16s, the fact remains that Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian jets in self defence."