Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be awarded Vir Chakra on Independence Day for shooting down Pakistan F-16 during the February 27 air-skirmish between IAF and PAF a day after Balakot strikes. Vir Chakra is India’s third-highest wartime medal. Two personnel will be conferred with Kirti Chakras while 14 others will be conferred with Shaurya Chakras.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","yoast_head":"\n