The first MiG-21 planes were inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1963 and, since then, over 1,200 of the fighter jets have protected the country.
This is the end of an era for the Indian Air Force, one that has lasted over six decades. Today the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 – that most redoubtable of fighter jets, the hero of four armed conflicts with Pakistan – made its last flight, tipping its wings in a sombre yet joyful salute to the generations of pilots it trained and with whom it flew into deadly dogfights.
The legacy of the MiG-21, of a Soviet-era fighter that should have been rendered obsolete years ago by newer and flashier rivals, will be that of a warhorse that became synonymous with the country’s Air Force, executing attack, defence, and reconnaissance missions for decades.
The legacy will also be this… that virtually every fighter pilot in the Air Force will have flown either the original MiG-21 or a variant. But now, this Friday, she will fly off into the sunset.
Retirement, finally
At 12.05 pm six Bison variants, led by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh (call sign ‘Badal 3′) soared above Chandigarh one last time. And a water cannon salute honoured the jets on landing.
Why Chandigarh? Because poetry demands it. This was where the first MiG-21 was inducted into the Air Force in 1963. A batch of 13 was flown down to meet the Indian Air Force’s demand for a high-altitude interceptor designed to counter spy planes, like the United States’ U-2.
Among the pilots accompanying ‘Badal 3’ was Squadron Leader Priya Sharma, India’s seventh woman fighter pilot. Squadron Leader Sharma also flew the MiG-21 in formation with the Air Chief from Rajasthan’s Bikaner, because this plane deserves more than one farewell.
Her presence also symbolises the MiG-21’s role in empowering generations, for she is part of a new generation transitioning to modern jets like the Russian Sukhoi Su-37 and France’s Rafale.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several high-ranking officers were in attendance.
The MiG-21 story
Since April 1963, when the first MiG-21s arrived, over 1,200 of these Mach 2 marvels have served as the Air Force’s backbone. In fact, till 2006 the IAF was jocularly called the ‘MiG Air Force’, with five variants – the MiG-21, 23, 25, 27, and 29 – in service simultaneously.
That underlines not only the plane’s longevity, but also the IAF’s remarkable ability to adapt the platform to new and various challenges, some even the Russians could not have seen.
And there seemed to be nothing the plane could not do; its original role extended to air combat and defence, ground attack, reconnaissance, and even training of fighter pilots.
The MiG-21 was, therefore, upgraded with advanced weaponry and avionics over the years, thus becoming something more than just a ‘fighter jet’. It came to symbolise Indo-Russian military ties, a relationship that, like the plane, endured decades and still stands strong.
The ‘Flying Coffin’?
Yet, in the final years of service, it acquired the more morbid ‘flying coffin’ tag.
The phasing out of the MiG-21 today comes after numerous crashes involving the aging plane, including an incident in Rajasthan in May 2023 in which three villagers were killed.
The MiG-21 in question took off from the Suratgarh Air Force base for a routine exercise when it crashed near Bahlol Nagar in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh after a ‘technical snag’.
The Air Force grounded the entire MiG-21 fleet after that accident.
But ‘the flying coffin’ moniker is only a small part of an extraordinary legacy.
