*ISLAMABAD – Radio Pakistan reported that Indian Air Force (IAF) lost 20aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters in crashes since 2016.*
Indian Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik in a written reply inLok Sabha said that the quantum of provisional losses in 11 cases ofcrashes was approximately INR 525 crore.
He said in 2016-17, six Indian Air Force fighter jets, two helicopters, onetransport aircraft and one trainer crashed, while in 2017-18, the air forcelost two fighter jets and one trainer aircraft in crashes.
The number rose sharply in 2018-19 with the Indian Air Force losing sevenfighter jets, two helicopters and two trainers.
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It is worth mentioning that Pakistan Air Force shot downlink two fighterjets of Indian Air Force in broad daylight on February 27 over violation ofthe Line of Control (LoC), besides arresting one of its pilots AbhinandanVarthaman, who was later handed overlink to Indianofficials at Wahga Border as a gesture of peace from Pakistan.
According to Pakistan’s military media wing, one IAF jet crashed insideAzad and Jammu Kashmir region while other in India occupied Kashmir duringthe dogfight of Feb 27.
