New Delhi: The MiG-21 Bison Squadron No. 51, an Indian Air Force (IAF) unit, has been conferred with the title - 'Falcon Slayers' and 'AMRAAM Dodgers', in the form of special uniform patches made to commemorate the brave role played by its Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, in striking down Pakistan Airforce’s F-16 aircraft.
The patch shows a MIG-21 Bison and a red-coloured F-16. 'AMRAAM Dodgers' is inscribed at the top and 'Falcon Slayers’ is at the bottom.
Varthaman was stationed at the Srinagar airbase with his squadron, when Pakistan, in retaliation to the Balakot airstrike, intruded the Indian air space. The braveheart engaged in a dogfight with Pakistani F-16 jets and shot one of them down on February 27, 2019.
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In the encounter, his Bison aircraft was also shot down forcing him to eject in Pakistani territory. He was captured by Pakistan but was released a few days later.
Squadron no. 51, whose aircraft successfully evaded the 4-5 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles of the PAF F-16s, have also named themselves the ‘AMRAAM Dodger’ in the new patches.
