He graduated for the National Defence Academy, joined the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 2004 and was trained at the IAF centers in Bathinda and Halwara. He was a Su-30 MKI fighter pilot before being assigned to the MiG-21 Bison squadron.

Abhinandan Varthaman is a wing-commander in the Indian Air Force. In the 2019 India-Pakistan standoff, he was held for three days under captivity in Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight.

Abhinandan's family hails from Thirupanamoor Kerala, a village near Kanchipuram. His father, Mr. Simhakutty Varthaman was retired as an Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force while his mother is a doctor by profession. Abhinandan is married to a retired IAF Squadron leader and lives in Chennai.

A graduate of the National Defence Academy, he joined the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 2004 and was trained at the IAF centers in Bathinda and Halwara. He was a Su-30 MKI fighter pilot before being assigned to the MiG-21 Bison squadron.

On 27 February 2019, Varthaman was flying a MiG-21 as a part of a sortie that was scrambled to intercept an intrusion by Pakistan aircraft into Jammu and Kashmir. In the dogfight that ensued, he crossed into Pakistan territory where he was struck by a missile. Varthaman ejected and descended safely in the village of Horran in Azad Kashmir, approximately 7 km from the Line of Control.

It was claimed by local villagers that Varthaman could be identified as an Indian pilot by the Indian flag on his parachute. Upon landing, Varthaman asked the villagers if he was in India, to which a young boy replied in the affirmative. Varthaman reportedly followed up with pro-India slogans and asked for drinking water while informing the locals of a back injury. The locals responded with pro-Pakistan slogans, after which Varthaman began to run while firing warning shots. He ran for approximately 500 meters, to a small pond, where he attempted to sink and swallow some of his documents. Subsequently, he was captured and manhandled by the villagers before being rescued by the Pakistan Army.

The following day, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that an Indian pilot was missing in action after a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane was lost while engaging with Pakistani jets. A statement released by the IAF also said that prior to his MiG's crashing, he had managed to shoot down a PAF Lockheed Martin F-16. Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General refuted the later claims and asserted that F-16s were not used at all.

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