IAF Chief Dhanoa Visits Sulur Air Base, Flies Oldest MiG-21 Model

Dhanoa undertook a sortie of the aircraft and followed it up with three solo flights on Mig-21.

Indian Air Force chief Birender Singh Dhanoa flew a number of MiG-21 sorties in Sulur, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Though chiefs have flown fighters in the past as a morale boosting gesture, Dhanoa's latest act comes in the backdrop of Indian Air Force saying that an ageing Soviet-era jet shot down a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 in an aerial combat on Line of Control (LoC) in February this year.

Dhanoa undertook a sortie on the two-seater trainer version of the aircraft and followed it up with three solo flights on Mig-21 Type 96, the oldest variant of the aircraft.

Dhanoa had commanded the 17 squadron ( flying Type 96) during the Kargil operations.

#LeadingFromFront :The CAS ACM BS Dhanoa, leading the IAF from front, flew the supersonic jet MiG-21 at AFS Sulur. Post his solo sortie, he reaffirmed "MiG-21 is a formidable war machine". pic.twitter.com/KIOoSYaiOd

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 17, 2019

The IAF said that the MiG-21 flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman shot down the F-16 which was part of a large package of PAF fighters trying to cross the border in Jammu and Kashmir to drop bombs at “military installations” in retaliation to IAF's bombing of terrorist training camps in Pakistan's Balakot.

(Published in an arrangement with IANS)