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IAF lost 27 aircraft in crashes since 2016: Govt

05:23 PM Jun 26, 2019 | Team Udayavani |

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said Wednesday.

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The quantum of provisional loss in 11 cases of crashes was approximately Rs 524.64 crore, he said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

In the 2016-17 fiscal, six IAF fighter jets, two helicopters, one transport aircraft and one trainer crashed. In 2017-18, the air force lost two fighter jets and one trainer aircraft in crashes.

The number rose sharply in 2018-19 with the IAF losing seven fighter jets, two helicopters and two trainers.

This included the crash of the MiG-21 fighter jet which was being piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during a dogfight with Pakistan Air Force planes on February 27.

On the same day, a Mi-17 helicopter also crashed killing six air force personnel.

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In 2019-20, so far, an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh, killing 13 air force personnel earlier this month.

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