JF-17 Thunder Draws First Blood

[araz]

I still have doubts that a Sukhoi went down. Indians can't height downing of a bird that size.

We hid the loss and damage of the Erieyes for so long. Why cant the IAF hide its SU30 Loss?
A

 

[MIRauf]

They can easily, just build one with same serial number. They have in house production for the type.

 

[Pied Piper]

Salaam!


Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison Shot Down By Pakistan Air Force Jet
February 27, 2019 David Cenciotti Military Aviation 40 Comments

https://theaviationist.com/2019/02/...21-bison-shot-down-by-pakistan-air-force-jet/

Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison (Image credit: Jyotirmoy Moulick)
An Indian MiG-21 was shot down earlier today by the Pakistan Air Force.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has admitted loss of a MiG-21 Bison, shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during an engagement over the ceasefire line in disputed Kashmir. The MiG-21 pilot was arrested.

The clashes come a day after IAF Mirage 2000s flew across the LoC (Line of Control) to carry out an air strike on terror bases in Balakot using Israeli SPICE 2000 EO/GPS-guided stand-off 2000-lb PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions).

How the aerial engagement unfold is still unclear.

According to some sources, the IAF MiG-21 were launched in response to PAF strikes earlier in the morning. Islamabad claims at least two IAF fighters crossed LOC and were both shot down by PAF fighters inside Pakistani airspace.



As mentioned, the Indian authorities have admitted loss of just one fighter. Moreover, India claims that a MiG-21 was able to shoot down a Pakistani jet that crashed in Pakistan. However, such claim is not backed by any evidence yet.



Images of a crashed Indian Air Force Mi-17V-5 transport helicopter also circulated the social media. At the time of writing there hasn’t been any official confirmation yet as to whether the chopper was shot down or not.

Another detail that has not been confirmed yet is the type of jet that downed the Bison: some sources says it was an F-16 others say it was a JF-17 Thunder.

The JF-17 is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed from a joint venture between the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. It’s considered a 4th Gen. fighter If confirmed, this would be the first kill of an aircraft by the JF-17 (the Thunder shot down an Iranian spy drone in 2017).


The Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder (Photo: PAC/CAC)
On the other side, the MiG-21 Bison is an upgraded version of the Russian-made baseline MiG-21. Although the design is obsolete, its low radar visibility, instantaneous turn rate and acceleration, and the helmet mounted sight combined with high-off-boresight R-73 air-to-air missiles are among the factors that can make the upgraded MiG-21 a threatening adversary, even for more modern fighters.




Anyway, for the moment, heavy disinformation war aside (with social media engulfed by fake videos, images, unconfirmed claims etc.), the tension between India and Pakistan has led to local skirmishes and remains more or less controlled, with no signs of dangerous, imminent escalation.

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• CAC/PAC JF-17 THUNDER
• INDIAN AIR FORCE
• MIG-21 BISON
• PAKISTAN AIR FORCE

About David Cenciotti 3678 Articles
David Cenciotti is a freelance journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written four books.
Website

 

[Philip the Arab]

We been knowing.

 

[Pied Piper]

A different perspective from an Aviationist analyst - I found it interesting view from a third party in regards to this conflict.

Obviously when the 'fog of war' clears, then hopefully a clearer picture. There is a massive campaign from India in denying and countering all narratives given by Pakistan. Though the credibility of truth at the moment is in favour of Pakistan as it has rebutted and shown the evidence etc.

 

[Jaanbaz]

So no Indian proof of this Pakistani F-16, looks like a lot of hot air released by that murderous knob Modi.

 

[Mugwop]

Hahaha
jackdaws is crying

 

[usman012]

Another proof of Indian aircraft shot down .Two pilots seen ejecting on the other side of Kashmir (IoK) .The people say the Parachute looks like of Indian flag or something .

 

[untitled]

The people say the Parachute looks like of Indian flag or something .

Why would the IAF (or any air force for that matter) give its front-line pilots parachutes, sporting the national colours? Does not make sense. That will only makes them appear as neon-lit targets in broad daylight as they descend (especially behind enemy lines). Maybe its just that saffron/brownish yellow is a common colour for parachutes

 

[usman012]

Why would the IAF (or any air force for that matter) give its front-line pilots parachutes, sporting the national colours? Does not make sense. That will only makes them appear as neon-lit targets in broad daylight as they descend (especially behind enemy lines). Maybe its just that saffron/brownish yellow is a common colour for parachutes

The people seems to be Pakistani .

 

[Windjammer]

Painting by Jeff Holy depicting a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 shooting down an Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison over Azad Kashmir on the morning of 27 February 2019

 

[maximuswarrior]

Hehe Indians going to take Jeff to ICC.

 

[Muhammad Omar]

Indian wet dreams and tall claims going down with their bottoms on fire

 

[untitled]

Are you sure he is English?
Lofter dot com appears to be a Chinese website

 

[Imran Khan]

Look nice to me