Missing pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's father has Gwalior, Mirage connection from Kargil - Times of India

BENGALURU: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the pilot who is suspected to be in Pakistan's custody and declared as a missing pilot is not the first from his family to serve in the Indian Air Force (IAF). His father, Air Marshal (retd) S Varthaman, who last served as Eastern Air Command chief, had even seen action during Kargil.

An experienced test pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours on 40 types of aircraft to his credit, Varthaman senior had joined the IAF as a fighter pilot in 1973.

The IAF, in 2011 had said, "During the Kargil conflict, Varthaman was the chief operations officer of Gwalior where he used his flight test experience to co-ordinate upgradation of the Mirage 2000 aircraft that proved instrumental in the success of the air campaign."

Incidentally, it was the Mirage 2000 that was the preferred choice for India to conduct pre-dawn air strikes in Pakistan on Tuesday, as a retaliation to which Pakistan sent in its F-16 fighters on Wednesday, while engaging with which his son, Abhinandan had to eject.
Also, during Operation Parakram-launched after the 2001 Parliament attack-Varthaman was in command of an airbase in the western sector.
Abhinandan's education

Among the many key positions Varthaman held in his 41-year career, he was also posted as the Chief Test Pilot of Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), in Bengaluru. "It was during this time that his family was also here. Abhinandan went to school in Bengaluru for a brief while," a retired wing commander from ASTE, who is acquainted with Varthaman told TOI.
"He still frequents Bengaluru, although they are settled in Chennai now. Varthaman, as test pilots are required to be, is a man of precision, but it is his composure that I recollect most," the officer said. Varthaman was also the Chief Flying Instructor at Fighter Training Wing, Hakimpet.

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February 27, 2019 at 10:40PM