Former US Air Force pilot says his ‘money is on Indians' as India-Pak tensions escalate
A former fighter pilot who served in the US Air Force for more than 20 years says he has flown with both Indian and Pakistani pilots. If asked to pick between the two, he would put his money on Indians.
Dale Stark is a distinguished former US Air Force pilot renowned for his expertise with the A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as the "Warthog." He has been deployed to Afghanistan three times - in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Stark joined the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic and rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel.
In a post shared on the social media platform X this morning, the US Air Force veteran said that having flown with both Indian and Pakistani fighter pilots, he would put his money on Indians if tensions between the two countries were to escalate further.
'I've flown with both Indian and Pakistani fighter pilots during my career. I'll just say my money's on the Indians if this continues to escalate,' he wrote.
Responding to one surprised comment, Stark wrote: 'They [Indians] were way better.'
His post comes after several pro-Pakistani social media handles falsely claimed that its forces downed five Indian jets – including Rafales – during Operation Sindoor on Wednesday.
(Also read: Pak minister schooled by CNN anchor for absurd 'social media' reply as proof of downing Indian jets)
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that a misleading image being circulated online is from a previous incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-29 fighter jet that crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan, in September 2024.
The crash was not related to the ongoing operations and occurred due to a technical issue. The pilot involved in the crash survived the incident. PIB emphasized that the image has no connection to the current military activities or events linked to Operation Sindoor.
(With inputs from PTI)
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