IAF rejects Pak claims, says all Su-30 returned

Exposing yet another falsehood propagated by Islamabad, the Indian Air force on Tuesday said each of its Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft returned to their bases safely after the last week's aerial battle with the Pakistan Air Force and there was no question of PAF shooting down a Sukhoi.

“All the Su-30 aircraft engaged in combat landed back safely. The false claim by Pakistan of shooting down a Su-30, appears to be a cover-up for loss of its own aircraft,” IAF spokesperson Group Captain Anupam Banerjee said in a statement.

The sharp counter from the IAF is intended to silence reports originating in Pakistan with the claims of the PAF downing a Su-30 MKI in the February 27 aerial battle, a day after IAF struck at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp at Balakot in Pakistan.

The IAF asserted that during the combat, use of F-16 by the PAF and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles were “conclusively observed” by the Indian warriors.

Use of such weapons against India, officials said, was a clear violation of the terms of conditions under which the USA sold them to Pakistan last decade.

“In the morning of February 27, 2019, our air defence system was on full alert. Build up of PAF aircraft on their side of the Line of Control was noticed in time and additional aircraft were scrambled to tackle the adversary.

“In their attempt to attack our ground targets, PAF aircraft were engaged effectively. From IAF side, Mirage-2000, Su-30 and MiG-21 Bison aircraft were involved in the engagement. PAF aircraft were forced to withdraw in a hurry, which is also evident from large missed distances of the weapons dropped by them,” Banerjee said.

“During combat, use of F-16 by PAF and multiple launches of AMRAAM were conclusively observed. Prompt and correct tactical action by Su-30 aircraft, in response to AMRAAM launch, defeated the missile. Parts of the missile fell in area East of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, injuring a civilian on the ground. A detailed report in this regard has already been released by IAF,” Banerjee said, referring to the statement issued by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor on February 28.