IAF probing whether friendly fire brought down own chopper after Balakot strike
Srinagar: Among the threads being investigated in the February 27 crash of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter near Srinagar during a tense standoff with Pakistan include the possibility that it may have been "accidentally" shot down by Indian Air Defence System, officials said.
The officials, who are familiar with the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, believe that the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter may not have switched on the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system which identifies the flying object to radars, whether it is a an enemy or one of its own.
The IFF technology developed during World War II is an instrument within the aircraft or a helicopter which sends signals to nearby radars giving its identification signatures.
The IAF refused to comment on speculation that the helicopter, which crashed in Kashmir region killing all six personnel on board, may have been shot down by the air defence system which was on the highest alert after Indian air strikes at Balakot in Pakistan on February 26.
An IAF spokesperson would only say, "In any flying accident the Court of Inquiry looks into all possibilities before conclusively establishing the cause of an accident. In the instant case also, the ongoing Court of Inquiry is looking into every possibility that could have caused the accident. Before the court submits it's report it will be premature to comment."
The helicopter was flown by Sqdn Leader Siddharth Vashisht with other members Sqdn Ldr Ninad Mandvgane, Kumar Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, Corporals Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumar.
It crashed at Budgam after taking off from Srinagar airport at 10:10 am, soon after Pakistani Air Force jets had attempted to violate the Indian airspace at around 9.30 am on February 27.
The Pakistani Air Force, after intruding in Rajouri sector of Jammu region on February 27, was attempting a similar misadventure in Uri sector of North Kashmir's Baramulla around the same time when the helicopter was airborne from Srinagar airfield.
The domination of IAF fighter jets made Pakistan abandon its misadventure at Uri but the air defence system is believed to have fired at the helicopter by then, killing all the personnel and a civilian on the ground, officials said.
If this line of inquiry is pursued, the investigators will also try to find out whether the pilot inadvertently did not switch on the IFF or whether the instrument malfunctioned, they said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
