Falcon Slayer, AMRAAM Dodger: Wing Commander Abhinandan's unit gets shoulder patches marking F-16 kill

The MiG-21 Bison squadron brought out new patches which depict a MiG 21 in the foreground along with a red-coloured F-16 with Falcon Slayers written on top and AMRAAM Dodgers written at the bottom of it.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 16 May 2019 10:51 AM (IST)

Falcon Slayer, AMRAAM Dodger: Wing Commander Abhinandnan's unit gets patches marking F-16 kill Falcon Slayer, AMRAAM Dodger: Wing Commander Abhinandan's unit gets shoulder patches marking F-16 kill

Images: Wing Cdr Abhinandan (PTI)/ Shoulder patch of Squadron 51 (ANI)

The squadron of Abhinandan Varthaman has come out with shoulder patches which reads “Falcon Slayers” and “AMRAAM Dodgers”

The step was taken to commemorate Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s valor during the aerial tensions with Pakistan, and for shooting down the country's F-16 jet

New Delhi: Commemorating Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s valor during the aerial tensions with Pakistan, and for shooting down the country's F-16 jet carrying AMRAAM, the squadron of the IAF hero has come out with shoulder patches which reads “Falcon Slayers” and “AMRAAM Dodgers”. The MiG-21 Bison squadron brought out new patches which depict a MiG 21 in the foreground along with a red-coloured F-16 with Falcon Slayers written on top and AMRAAM Dodgers written at the bottom of it. Though the Indian Air Force does not generally come up with such markings, any aquadron can come out with shoulder patches to mark its achievements. Abhinandan Varthaman became the face of military confrontation between Indian and Pakistan. Varthaman was arrested when his jet MIG-21 crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following an aerial engagement in which India downed one F -16 jet of Pakistan. Pakistani fighter jets had unsuccessfully targeted various military installations in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, in retaliation to India’s preemptive precision strikes on terror camp in Balakot. The IAF foiled the Pakistani strike and in the aerial engagement Varthaman downed an F-16 jet of Pakistan. Soon after he brought down the F-16, Varthaman was captured by the Pakistani Army as his MiG-21 Bison jet was hit. He was later released by Pakistan on March 1. The IAF had said the Pakistani F-16 fighters fired AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile during the aerial combat. Person behind squadron patches: A 21-year-old political science graduate has designed the Falcon slayer and AMRAAM dodger patch for the IAF. The boy named Saurav Chordia reportedly works as a graphic designer in New Delhi. The enthusiast has designed more than a hundred patches for the IAF, since the age of eighteen.

Published at : 16 May 2019 10:10 AM (IST)

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ABHINANDAN F-16 Indian Air Force IAF MiG-21 Pakistan India