Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman became a fixture of India-Pakistan military history in February 2019, when he shot down a Pakistani F-16 while flying a MiG-21 Bison, before his own jet was hit, forcing him to eject over Pakistani-held territory.
Seven years on, he has traded fighter jets for a very different cockpit. He subsequently joined Goa-based regional carrier FLY91 as a commercial pilot. His return to the cockpit was initially uncertain as he suffered injuries to his spine and ribs during the high-speed ejection. After undergoing medical evaluations and clearance processes at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru, he cleared his medical assessments and returned to operational fighter-flying status. The transition is a big shift in the aviation environment. Pilots transitioning from military to civil aviation undergo standard Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulatory conversions, medical certifications, and specific type-rating training before taking command of commercial flights.
On March 31 this year, Varthaman took premature retirement from the Indian Air Force after completing 22 years of service, officials aware of the matter said. Later, Pakistan announced his release, and he crossed back into India at the Attari-Wagah border on March 1, 2019. On Independence Day 2019, the government announced the Vir Chakra – India’s third-highest wartime gallantry award – for Varthaman, and he received it from then-President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in November 2021. Varthaman became the first IAF officer to receive the wartime gallantry award since the 1999 Kargil War, when Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja and Wing Commander AK Sinha were honoured with the same. He continued his career with the IAF, rising through the ranks to be promoted to Group Captain in December 2021 before completing 22 years of service. The end of his military career came over seven years after the 2019 dogfight. Officials aware of the details told HT that Group Captain Varthaman left IAF on March 31 this year, completing all required administrative procedures, including securing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Air Force Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence, before joining FLY91. In contrast to supersonic combat fighters like the Su-30MKI and MiG-21 Bison, regional carriers like FLY91 operate twin-engine turboprop passenger aircraft such as the ATR 72-600.
The citation also praises his conduct in captivity, noting his “exceptional resolve” and the “stoic, brave and dignified manner” in which he carried himself until repatriation.
The confrontation with Pakistan unfolded on February 27, 2019, less than 24 hours after India carried out an airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) facility in Balakot, Pakistan. The February 26 strike was in response to the Pulwama suicide attack in which 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed.
Varthaman’s Vir Chakra citation details how he first responded to the Pakistani formation, then broke it apart. Images and videos of him circulated widely, turning his ordeal into a central flashpoint of the India-Pakistan standoff, and his eventual release into a major diplomatic moment. As the F-16 turned to retreat, Varthaman pursued, engaged it in combat, and brought it down with an onboard missile. The encounter was hailed by the IAF as the first instance of a MiG-21 Bison shooting down an F-16. Pakistan disputed the loss of an F-16, after which the IAF released radar imagery to counter the assertion. Captured by Pakistani forces, Varthaman spent nearly 60 hours in custody.
His “audacious and aggressive manoeuvre” forced the enemy aircraft into “tactical chaos”. “However, in the melee, one of the enemy aircraft fired multiple advanced BVR missiles, one of which hit his aircraft forcing him to eject in enemy territory,” the citation noted.
Varthaman — then a Wing Commander with the Srinagar-based 51 Squadron — was on operational readiness duty at Air Force Station Srinagar when a large Pakistan Air Force fighter package was detected approaching the Line of Control. Varthaman, as per the citation, used his MiG-21’s airborne intercept radar to scan low-altitude airspace and spotted the Pakistani aircraft attempting to ambush an Indian fighter. A brief, intense dogfight followed, ending with Varthaman ejecting into enemy territory, but not before he downed an F-16. The MiG-21 Bison is a modernised version of a Soviet-era fighter design, while the F-16 is a fourth-generation US-designed fighter used by Pakistan.
Pakistan retaliated the next day by attempting to strike Indian military positions. He was scrambled within five minutes of the enemy aircraft being detected. He then alerted his formation and moved into an offensive posture against the enemy. The significance of the encounter lay partly in the aircraft involved.
