IAF Chief & Wing Commander Flies MiG-21 Jet Together

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who piloted a MiG-21 Bison during the air strike at a terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot in February, flew together on Monday in a two-seater version of the Russian-origin legacy jet.

Dhanoa commanded a squadron of frontline groundattack fighters and hit dug in defences in the icy heights of Kargil during thewar in 1999.

In today's sortie, the two took off in MiG-21trainer from Pathankot and flew for 30 minutes.

This was Dhanoa's last MiG-21 sortie flown with theWing Commander. Dhanoa said, "This is my last sortie on a fighter jet. Both ofus have two things in common. First, both of us ejected and second, both of ushave fought Pakistanis. I fought in Kargil, he fought after Balakot. And third,I have flown with his father. It's an honour for me to do my last sortie in theIAF, in a fighter aircraft, with his son."