NEW DELHI – Indian Air Force (IAF) have found that missile of Israeli-origin may have shot down its own Mi-17 V5 military chopper, following an alert on 27 Feb about 25 Pakistani fighter jets hovering over the border area that separates the two countries, reported The Economic Times on Friday.
The incident had occurred a day after when a militant rammed his car loaded with explosive material into a CRPF troop convoy in which over 40 personnel were killed and many others left wounded.
The Mi-17 V5 helicopter lifted off from Srinagar airfield at 10:00 am local time for a routine mission. The helicopter crashed around 10:10 am near Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. All six Indian Air force (IAF) personnel on board were killed in the crash, a leading Indian daily reported citing the initial report.
The investigation’s focus is to determine “if multiple layers of safeguards meant to protect assets from friendly fire failed and how systems need to be improved to prevent any such incident in future”, it reported.
The Indian authorities maintain that the IAF strike was carried out against suspected militants infrastructure operated by JeM, the Pakistan-based organisation that claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack.
A day after the Indian side launched the air strike in Balakot (in Pakistan), the two nuclear-armed nations engaged in an air crash, a first in five decades.
According to reports, at least 25 fighter jets from the Pakistan Air Force tried to breach the border for a strike on military targets. A slow moving target like the Mi-17 V5 helicopter could be mistaken for a low flying armed UAV homing into an air base, said the media report citing sources.
The IAF has stated it wouldn’t hesitate from initiating Court Martial proceedings against personnel found guilty in the inquiry.
In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019
On the other hand, Pakistan Air Force had claimed that PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] while the other fell inside IoK [Indian occupied Kashmir]. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on the ground while two in the area.
