Wing Commander Abhinandan's unit gets 'Falcon Slayers' patches

The Indian Air Force has given new shoulder patches with titles 'Falcon Slayers' and 'AMRAAM Dodgers' to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's MiG-21 Bison squadron in a tribute to his bravery in shooting down a F-16 jet of Pakistan during the aerial combat on February 27, officials said.

The new patches given to the 51 Squadron of IAF depict a MiG21 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.

A fleet of Pakistani fighter jets had unsuccessfully targeted various military installations in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, a day after India carried out air strikes on a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan's Balakot.

The IAF foiled the Pakistani retaliation, and in the dogfight, Varthaman downed a F-16 fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force, showing grit, determination and bravery.

Soon after he brought down the F-16, Varthaman was captured by the Pakistani Army as his MiG-21 Bison jet was .