Abhinandan's squadron gets 'Falcon Slayers' patches

Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s squadron has received a new shoulder patch. The new patch titled 'Falcon Slayers' is to commemorate the shooting down of Pakistan Air Force's F-16 fighter jet. Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down the F-16 on February 27 this year.

The 52 squadron patch shows a MIG-21 BISON in the foreground and a red coloured F-16 in the background under crosshairs. The other patch shows a SU-30MKI with an AMRAAM missile going past it after missing to hit it.

The Wing commander was at the Srinagar air base when Pakistani fighter jet F-16 crossed the LoC and entered Indian airspace in response to the Balakot airstrikes earlier that month. Abhinandan successfully shot down a fighter jet but got captured by Pakistani forces when he himself crashed. Abhinandan was part of the 51st squadron during the incident.

Following the incident, he has been moved to the 23rd squadron. The squadron has been given the title ‘AMRAAM dodger’, considering that they successfully evaded attacks from the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM.

Pilots of the Su-30MKI Squadron, another jet that participated in the aerial exchange and was involved in aerial-intercept and successfully dodged attacks from the AMRAAM missile has been bestowed the title, ‘AMRAAM dodger’.

IAF spokesperson Group Captain Anupam Banerjee said it was common for squadron pilots to wear patches. “Patches instil a sense of pride in not only the present generation of pilots but also the future ones. It gives a sense of achievement to the pilot,” he said.

The patches were designed by Saurav Chordia. “I got a request from the two squadrons last month and after a few changes, the final design was approved by them,” he told Indian Express.