https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...ortie-abhinandan-varthaman-1594502-2019-09-02
I ndian Air Force (IAF) Chief BS Dhanoa who
flew his last sortie with Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman on Monday, drew
parallels with him saying both of them had
fought Pakistanis and had ejected.
"Both of us got ejected and both of us fought
Pakistanis. I fought Kargil war and he fought
Balakot. I have flown with his father,. We
were together in MiG-21 squadron," said
Dhanoa after his last sortie from the air base
in Pathankot.
BS Dhanoa and Abhinandan Varthaman on
Monday flew a sortie in a MiG-21 Type 69
fighter Aircraft.
"It is a part joy for me to come and fly with 26
squadron which is the last squadron of the
legacy MiG-21 aircraft. It was also a pleasure
for me to fly with Abhinandan because he got
his flying category back which all pilots look
forward to," said BS Dhanoa.
"I also got ejected in 1988 and took me 9
months to get my category back but he is
back in less than 6 months. So it's very good
for him. At present he is trainer captain and
got all his qualification back," said BS
Dhanoa.
"It's an honour for me to do my last sortie
with his son," he added.
Vir Chakra awardee Abhinandan Varthaman,
who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet
post-Balakot operations, had resumed flying
operations on August 23 after medical
clearance.
During Pakistani counter-attack on India on
February 27 in response to Balakot airstrikes,
Abhinandan had flown a MiG 21 Bison fighter
into Pakistan occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).
Abhinandan Varthaman had been grounded
due to ejection from his MiG-21 which had
been shot down in aerial conflict with
Pakistan Air Force F-16s.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, Dhanoa is also a
MiG-21 pilot and had flown the planes during
the 1999 Kargil war while commanding the 17
Squadron, during the war.
