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All Pakistani F-16s are accounted for: US Govt buries Indian propaganda.

India’s claim that one of its fighter pilots shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet in an aerial battle between the two nuclear powers in February appears to be wrong. Two senior U.S. defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation told Foreign Policy that U.S. personnel recently counted Islamabad’s F-16s and found none 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.

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. But the count, conducted by U.S. authorities on the ground in Pakistan, sheds doubt on New Delhi’s version of events, suggesting that Indian authorities may have misled the international community about what happened that day.

The news comes just days before the start of India’s general elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking another term in office. In the weeks leading up to the election, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated to levels not seen in decades after a Pakistan-based militant group killed more than 40 Indian security officers in a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in India-controlled Kashmir. Both sides have been accused of spreading disinformation and fanning nationalistic flames.

Although the news likely won’t sway Indian voters, Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT, said the way the events have unfolded may affect India’s efforts to deter Pakistan in the future.

“As details come out, it looks worse and worse for the Indians,” Narang said. “It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process.”

The dogfight between the two nations occurred on Feb. 27, when India says a group of Pakistani jets entered its airspace in response to the first Indian air raid on Pakistani territory since a 1971 war. India scrambled its own jets and gave chase. During the aerial battle that ensued, Varthaman took a missile hit and ejected safely into Pakistani territory.

He was captured by the Pakistani army and released days later in an effort to de-escalate the crisis.

One of the senior U.S. defense officials with direct knowledge of the count said that Pakistan invited the United States to physically count its F-16 planes after the incident as part of an end-user agreement signed when the foreign military sale was finalized. Generally in such agreements, the United States requires the receiving country to allow U.S. officials to inspect the equipment regularly to ensure it is accounted for and protected.

Some of the aircraft were not immediately available for inspection due to the conflict, so it took U.S. personnel several weeks to account for all of the jets, the official said.


But now the count has been completed, and “all aircraft were present and accounted for,” the official said.

A second senior U.S. defense official with knowledge of the count confirmed that U.S. authorities on the ground found that no Pakistani F-16s were missing.

Evidence suggests that Pakistan’s F-16s were involved in the battle. The remnants of a U.S.-made AIM-120 air-to-air missile was found near the site; out of all the aircraft involved, only the F-16 can shoot such a weapon.

When the incident occurred, India asked the U.S. government to investigate whether Pakistan’s use of the F-16 against India violated the terms of the foreign military sale agreements.

However, the first defense official said the agreement did not involve any terms limiting the use of the F-16s.

“It would be incredibly naive for us to believe that we could sell some type of equipment to Pakistan that they would not intend to use in a fight,” the official said.

The U.S. State Department and the Indian and Pakistani embassies declined to comment.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/0...Zzrn-qL6b6VBX1K_8k5vexbwlW8pC0ao040s1hNeYxECo
Only in their dreams they might have shot down an F 16, when their bellies were full of hot air.
 
A more reliable source. Reuters also confirmed it.

Looks like MoDi ji will have a bad time spreading lies...:disagree: & elections will show him way out.

And IAF lol , has become the joke of a Century. I believe tomarrow even Srilankan or BD Air Force would outmatch IAF. Pata nahin hum jaise taxpayers ke paiso se ye training karte hai ya din bhar free fund ki daru peete hain.

Anyways, well deserved output , should be a slap in the face of BHAAA JAAAA PAAA Government.
@Windjammer
 
even indian media like ET, QUint, the wire and even india today..this is shocking as i expected their media to ignore the news..

seems modi might end up doign something..bad news for the region..
 
I'm getting tired of saying this....
WHERE ARE OR RESIDENT INTERNET HINDUS?!?!

they were talking a bit game about shooting down an f16....
 
The finding by the US on the ground in Pakistan "directly contradicts" India's claim that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter jet during an aerial dogfight on Feb 27.
PTI|
Updated: Apr 05, 2019, 10.31 AM IST

us-count-of-pakistans-f-16s-fighter-jets-found-none-of-them-missing-report.jpg

Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly in formation during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019.

A US count of the F-16s with Pakistan has found that none of them are "missing" and all the fighter planes were "present and accounted for", according to a report in a prominent American magazine.

The finding by the US on the ground in Pakistan "directly contradicts" India's claim that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter jet during an aerial dogfight on February 27.

The Indian Air Force on February 28 displayed pieces of the AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir.

Pakistan had categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the IAF.

According to the Foreign Policy magazine, Pakistan invited the United States to physically count its F-16 planes after the incident as part of an end-user agreement signed when the foreign military sale was finalised.

"A US count of Pakistan's F-16 fleet has found that all the jets are present and accounted for, a direct contradiction to India's claim that it shot down one of the fighter jets during a February clash," Lara Seligman of the magazine reported on Thursday.

The count of the F-16 fighter planes in Pakistan has been completed, and "all aircraft were present and accounted for," an unnamed defence official was quoted as saying by the magazine.

The Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a question on its count of F-16 fighter jets in Pakistan.

"As details come out, it looks worse and worse for the Indians," MIT professor Vipin Narang told Foreign Policy magazine.

"It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process," he said.


Generally, in such agreements, the US requires the receiving country to allow its officials to inspect the equipment regularly to ensure it is accounted for and protected, the news report said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the suicide bomber of JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation against a JeM training camp in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...-them-missing-report/articleshow/68733231.cms
 
Question is: two additional pilots who ejected that day were riding which jet(s)? I believe 2 JF17s
No idea man... maybe paragliders having adventure sports tourism .
But lot of sh1t for Indi
 
Economic times FINALLY reporting properly:

India launched a counter-terror operation against a JeM training camp in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

NO MENTION OF F-16 DOWNING LOL


Also this:

"As details come out, it looks worse and worse for the Indians," MIT professor Vipin Narang told Foreign Policy magazine.

"It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process," he said.

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68733231.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

even indian media like ET, QUint, the wire and even india today..this is shocking as i expected their media to ignore the news..

seems modi might end up doign something..bad news for the region..

I hope the last line doesn't happen.

I agree, this news should have come out post elections...

The IAF's whole victory narrative is hinged on the F16 downing claim. Take out this claim and what else is there left for the IAF to celebrate?
Qadoos bro Qadoos.
 
Without wreckage on the ground, nobody can prove anything for sure.

Two lots of wreckage have been videotaped and circulated widely - by Pakistani sources, not Indian.

India has one aircraft to account for, and it has been accounted for.

It is possible that the second wreck was a UFO. I sincerely hope you are not in the habit of reading aloud to yourself.
can you share the video in which two wreckage showing?
thanks
 
Well i still respect abinandon bcz he didnt lied...
It is utter shame for the Indian media, all its politicians and the Indian idiots who were asking the proofs of F16 shooting down by IAF on this forum.

How can we forget day long transmissions of Indian TV Channels that how great a hero AbhiNonedone is that he shot down a F 16 with a Mig 21.

#FakeIndia
 

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