Operation swift retort: India proves Pakistan's claim of downing rival copter

• India court-martials officer for shooting down IAF chopper.
• Pilot shot down chopper in panic amid Pakistan's retaliation of Balakot airstrikes.
• IAF confirms dismissal of Suman who was found guilty of nine charges.

India has court-martialled an officer of its air force for shooting down its own helicopter in panic during Pakistan's retaliation of the Balakot airstrikes in 2019, proving Islamabad's claims of downing an Indian chopper in Operation Swift Retort.

A General Court Martial (GCM) in India had ordered the dismissal of Indian Air Force (IAF) group captain Suman Roy Chowdhury for making a "friendly missile attack" on an Mi-17 helicopter following Balakot airstrikes in February 2019, according to a report published in Tribune India.

On February 27, 2019, an Indian Mi-17 helicopter crashed, killing seven people onboard, which New Delhi had described as an incident during a “routine mission”.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has now confirmed the dismissal after he was found guilty of nine charges and reprimanded Wing Commander Shyam Nethani, the senior air traffic control officer at that time.

Chowdhury, had been found guilty on multiple grounds for failing to follow standard operating procedures and identifying his own side's helicopter that was about to land.

The incident took place over Budgam amid an air skirmish with Pakistan when an air force helicopter was "shot down by a Spyder air defence system within 10 minutes of taking off". As a result, six IAF personnel on board and a civilian on the ground lost their lives.

This also caused the IAF a loss of Rs133.3 crore.

Pakistan celebrated four years of the successful “Operation Swift Retort" that its air force had launched against intruding Indian jets in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, 2019, shooting down two Indian fighter jets. 

Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 plane was shot down in a fight over Azad Jammu Kashmir, during an aerial battle and he was arrested.

The planes were targeted when they entered Pakistani airspace. Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was later released by Pakistan as a gesture of peace.