NEW DELHI: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who is hero of the Balakot Air Strike, is likely to be honoured by the Central Government with the top military honours Veer Chakra. He may be honoured for the bravery he has shown in shooting down a Pakistani F-16 during a dogfight over the Line of Control on February 27 and the Mirage-2000 pilots involved in the operation a day before that to precision bomb a terror base in Pakistan’s Balakot.

An official said, "Varthaman is likely to be awarded a Vir Chakra for his exploits, and the five Mirage-2000 fighter aces who dropped bombs on the terror facility of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry."

Vir Chakra is India’s third-highest wartime gallantry award, after the Param Vir Chakra and the Maha Vir Chakra.  According to sources, Varthaman is recovering from ejection-related injuries and is likely to undergo a series of tests in the coming months at the Bengaluru-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine that will have to give him final clearance for flying again.

On 27th february dogfight took place a day before the Mirage-2000 fighter jet destroyed the Jaish militant hideouts in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack.

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