I don't think we have seen an instance of pilots being awarded for supposed "avoidance" from getting hit.
Can you explain, how can there be AMRAAM wreckage, if there were no F-16s involved?
"
Firstly, Pakistan did not use F-16s in the entire action and there is no news that a Pakistan plane was downed," the DG ISPR confirmed during a press conference few hours after Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian fighter jets."
https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/480330-Pakistan-F16-jet-clarification-Pakistan-Army-India-fake-news
Or was ISPR lying ?
And if ISPR can lie about F-16 not being involved, then why can't they lie about F-16 being shot down?
The ISPR briefing was about the PAF strikes against your locations across the LoC. It is a fact that no PAF F-16s came across the LoC as the strikes were conducted by Mirages and JF-17s with top cover from other assets. Top cover can be provided at standoff ranges so it makes no sense for PAF to come across the LoC with our F-16s given the optics. DG-ISPR was factually right and the Pakistani story makes sense. Your side's assertion that "we have signatures of F-16s" etc. means nothing because you can pick up signatures from afar. The EW libraries are put together with such snooping going on all the time from stand-off ranges.
The facts are literally on the ground. We have our data and insights that tell us that IAF lost more than 1 aircraft in this skirmish. The burden of hard proof is on your side because we don't need to prove anything given what landed on our and your side after this skirmish. We don't even disclose what and how the pilots who shot down your WingCo and other assets were commended on the backend.
Facts are:
- IAF lost a Mig-21 on the Pakistani side and an MI-17 was also lost during the same time in the same vicinity of the aerial action taking place. (We have a claim on at least one more IAF (Su-30MKI) loss but I won't get into that because it would take us down the same line as the Indian claim on the F-16.)
- PAF conducted airstrikes in response to your ingress the day before and these were successfully prosecuted.
- There is NO proof or data, not a shred, that PAF took ANY losses.
An aircraft going down in a heavily populated area is bound to have someone getting something on their phone. Not a shred of evidence to substantiate the claim that PAF lost an F-16.
There is a lot of posturing going on the Indian side and a lot of it is to shore up morale. That is obviously your business as to how your side wants to do it but it will be challenged each step of the way. After all, after any such situation, both sides need to have a way to back down without losing face so I can see why such stuff is being talked up by India.