IAF rubbishes Pak's claim of shooting down Su-30

New Delhi [India], Mar 5 (ANI): Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday rubbished Pakistan's claim of shooting down an Indian Sukhoi-30 as a "cover-up" for the "loss of its own aircraft."
"All the Su-30 aircraft engaged in combat landed back safely. False claim by Pakistan of shooting down a Su-30, appears to be a cover-up for loss of its own aircraft," the IAF said in a statement.
Elaborating on the retaliatory strike carried out by Pakistan a day after the IAF targetted terror launch pads across the LoC, the IAF said: "On 27 February 2019 morning, our air defence system was on full alert.
"Build up of PAF aircraft on their (Pakistan) side of LoC was noticed in time and additional aircraft were scrambled to tackle the adversary. In their attempt to attack our ground targets, PAF aircraft were engaged effectively," said the IAF.
The IAF said that from the Indian side, Mirage-2000, Su-30 and MiG-21 Bison aircraft were involved in the engagement.
"PAF aircraft were forced to withdraw in a hurry, which is also evident from large missed distances of the weapons dropped by them. During combat, use of F-16 by PAF and multiple launches of AMRAAM were conclusively observed. Prompt and correct tactical action by Su-30 aircraft, in response to AMRAAM launch, defeated the missile," the statement read.
"Parts of the missile fell in area East of Rajouri in J&K, injuring a civilian on the ground. A detailed report in this regard has already been released by IAF," added the statement.
In a joint media briefing held on February 28, senior officials of the three armed forces had said that Pakistan used an F-16 aircraft in its futile attempt to target military establishments in India and asserted that there was enough evidence to prove the same.
They also displayed visuals of the cover of AMRAAM missile fired from Pakistani F-16 aircraft that were found near the LoC in India. (ANI)