Just to look at the MiG-21 today you could be forgiven for thinking that it was a museum piece.
Yet, it is only on Friday, 26 September, that this make will be officially retired from the Indian Air Force after decades of service.
There is a fair amount of nostalgia, especially from retired and senior IAF personnel, regarding the MiG-21, but, on the flip side, the aircraft has become infamous in India for the large number of crashes – many fatal – involving this type over the years.
The MiG-21 has been in the IAF for more than 60 years, an astonishing length of time. And while India is finally saying goodbye to them, they continue to serve the air forces of countries in Asia, Africa as well as Cuba.
More than 870 MiG-21s have served at one point or another in the IAF and the jet fighter has become closely associated in the minds of Indians with its defenders of the sky.
But between 1971‑72 and April 2012, 482 MiG crashes were recorded, claiming 171 pilots, 39 civilians, eight service personnel and one aircrew. These were “caused by both human error and technical defects”. There is no official update of the data since, but every so often news would come in of yet another MiG-21 incident.
Designed in the old Soviet Union, the needle-nosed MiG-21 was razor-slim, blisteringly fast at altitude and could climb with ferocious speed. At its peak, the jet flew with more than 50 air forces, making it one of the most widely operated supersonic jets in history.
Having been designed with Russian conditions in mind, it was at times downright uncomfortable in hot and humid parts of India. It was also adapted here for different roles – it has been intended as a high altitude interceptor but India also utilised it for close combat and ground attacks.
With its last two MiG-21 squadrons retired, India will now have 29 fighter units against a sanctioned 42. This is a huge shortfall and a damning indictment of the ruling BJP, which talks tough on defence but seems incapable of backing that up in tangible ways.
Modern fighter planes are extremely expensive and India is still reliant on foreign manufacturers for highly advanced aircraft as our own industry is not yet up to the mark, though the indigenous Tejas fighter is a step in the right direction.
This year’s conflict with Pakistan as well as wars in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine have demonstrated that, while drones have their uses, fighter planes are still relevant as ever. Though past its prime, the MiG-21 served India well. Its legacy is mixed but it has also performed admirably in the defence of the nation.
