It is time to say final bye to MIG 21 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force. They served for more than six decades in the Indian Air Force. Preparations are underway to hold the formal farewell ceremony of Mig 21 in September.
As an alternative to MIG 21 , which has played an important role in many wars, Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft will be deployed. At present, Tejas is the smallest and lightest in its class of supersonic fighter jets in India.
Confirming the retirement of MIG 21, a senior defence official said that these aircraft will be retired in a formal farewell ceremony organised at Chandigarh Airbase in September this year. This will complete a 62-year journey that began in 1963. The farewell ceremony will be attended by pilots who once flew these aircraft.
The plan to replace the MiG-21 aircraft with the indigenously developed Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft has been in the works for a long time. The MiG-21 is a single-engine supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft. The MiG 21 was considered the backbone of the Indian Air Force until the mid-2000s, when the Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft were inducted.
The MiG-21 jets, known as Panthers, are currently being flown by 23 squadrons. These aircraft have played a special role in many major wars. These include the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the 1999 Kargil war, the 2019 Balakot airstrike and the recent Operation Sindoor.
It is noteworthy that during the Balakot airstrike in 2019, the then Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman flew the MiG-21 Bison. His MiG crashed and Abhinandan ejected himself but landed in Pakistan-controlled territory. Pakistani agencies took him into custody and Abhinandan was released after much pressure.
Since joining the Indian Air Force, India has purchased more than 700 MiG-21 aircraft of various types, and many of these have been manufactured domestically by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The recent version of the MiG was the Bison.
The last surviving squadron of the MiG-21 is currently stationed at Nal Airbase in Rajasthan. According to records, about 170 pilots and 40 civilians have been killed in incidents involving the MiG-21 in the last 60 years. It was once called the ‘flying coffin’ due to the number of fatalities.
After the current MiG 21 squadrons are phased out, if not replaced by indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas squadrons, the combat strength of the Indian Air Force will be reduced to 29 squadrons which will be the lowest number ever.
