Pakistan India Arif Alvi(President) Imran Khan(Prime Minister) Qamar Javed Bajwa(Chief of Army Staff) Ram Nath Kovind(President) Narendra Modi(Prime Minister) Bipin Rawat(Chief of Army Staff) 2 Dassault Mirage-IIIDA2 Dassault Mirage-VPA armed with H-4 SOW2 JF-17 Thunders armed with Mk.

Other conflicts Border skirmishes Strikes On 27 February 2019, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) conducted six airstrikes at multiple locations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

[21][22][23][24] On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was attacked by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group's vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

[45] The PAF jets entered into Indian air space over Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sector to hit targets.

[38][46] The locations struck by the PAF jets were identified to be Nadian, Laam Jhangar, Kerri in Rajouri District and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Ghali in Poonch by Indian officials.

[53] The villagers at the ground told Pakistani newspaper Dawn that they saw two enemy jets catch fire, one of which was able to escape into Indian territory.

[54][53] However, Indian officials rejected Pakistani claims of shooting down IAF Su-30 MKI jets and said that they were an attempt by Pakistan to cover up the loss of its F-16.

It was under the command of squadron leaders Siddarth Vashista and Ninad Mandavgane and crashed within ten minutes of take-off from the Srinagar air base.

[74] Ajai Shukla reported in April 2019 that the court of inquiry constituted by IAF to investigate the incident, had concluded that an Indian missile battery had misidentified the helicopter as Pakistani and shot it down.

[66] In October 2019, IAF confirmed that the helicopter was shot down by an Indian SPYDER surface-to-air missile and said that five personnel were held guilty for the lapses.

[67] IAF dismissed Group Captain Suman Roy Choudhry Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the Srinagar Air Force Station from his service in 2023 for his negligence during PAF strikes.

[77][78][17] The Ministry of External Affairs in a press conference confirmed that the PAF violated the LoC and entered Indian airspace through the Nowshera and Poonch sectors, shooting down one IAF jet and causing its pilot to go missing.

[85] DG ISPR Asif Ghafoor later conducted a press conference, stating: "Since today morning activity has been ongoing at LoC.

[88] According to Foreign Policy journalist Lara Seligman, U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter asserted that the US has recently completed a physical count of Pakistan's F-16s and has found none missing.

[89] The Washington Post, Indian newspaper Hindustan Times reported that a United States Department of Defense spokesman claimed that he was "not aware" of any such investigation that was conducted and stated, "As a matter of policy, the Department does not publicly comment on details of government-to-government agreements on end-use monitoring of US-origin defence articles.

[92] On the other hand, according to The National Bureau of Asian Research, "The Modi Government's public mischaracterizations of the February 2019 Balakot airstrike and subsequent air skirmishes, including subsequently debunked claims of a destroyed terrorist camp inside Pakistan and India's downing of a Pakistani F-16 jet, have already raised questions in the United States about New Delhi's credibility and communications strategy in the midst of an exceptionally dangerous regional context".

[94] In December 2019, USNews reported that the United States had sent a letter to Pakistan Air Force in August expressing its concern about the alleged misuse of F-16s during the skirmish in February.

The letter mentioned the State Department's confirmation that Pakistan had violated its agreement with the US by deploying F-16s and its complement of missiles to unauthorized forward air bases.

[95] A statue of the Indian pilot Abhinandan was installed in the Pakistan Air Force museum in an exhibit named Operation Swift Retort.