A US military F-16 fighter jet crashed in a warehouse in California last Thursday. As per reports, it was returning to March Air Base in Moreno Valley after a routine training mission and crashed after its hydraulics failed. The pilot, thankfully, ejected safely.
The crash was recorded on a dashboard camera of a commuter on the highway.
As per reports, the F-16 was carrying live ammunition, the specifics of which could not be discussed because of security reasons. There was a minor fire after the crash and 13 people are reported to be injured.
The F-16 fighter jets have recently been in the news after Pakistan misused the jets by using them to escalate aggression post-Balakot air strikes carried out by Indian Air Force on the terror camps in Pakistan.
After India had struck terror camps by an airstrike deep inside Pakistani territory in Balakot, Pakistan had violated Indian airspace using F16 fighter jets. They had also attempted to target Indian military installations, a misadventure that was successfully thwarted by Indian airforce.
When Pakistan acquired F16s from the USA, it came with an end-use monitoring agreement that said that Pakistan could use the F16s to defend itself and its war, albeit a fictitious one, against terror. However, Pakistan could not use the F16s to escalate or for any form of aggression against a sovereign nation.
Pakistan’s bold attempt to target Indian military installations was an act of escalation and aggression against a sovereign country and thus, was in contravention of the end-use monitoring agreement.
Pakistan had also tried to deny that F16s were used to breach Indian airspace, however, the Indian Armed Forces had recently held a press conference where they presented proof that the missile parts recovered by India in Indian territory were that of the AMRAAM missile which can only be used by an American made F16.
After the proof was presented, Pakistan again tried to lie and obfuscate claiming that the missile number in the evidence presented by India was of a lot sold to Taiwan. However, this was a lie. The lot was sold both to Pakistan and Taiwan and the specific serial number etched in the missile found by India was sold to Pakistan as evidenced by the contract details between America and Pakistan available on public domain.
