Indian Air Force (IAF) promoted ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to the rank of Group Captain, which is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.
The IAF officer was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down a Pakistani F-16 combat aircraft during a dog fight.
The IAF has cleared the officer for promotion to the rank of Group Captain and would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.
Varthaman’s MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.
He was released later by the Pakistan Army after extensive pressure was exerted on them by the Indian side along with international intervention.
Varthaman was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to counter an aerial attack launched by the Pakistan army on 27 February 2019.
Later, India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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