Bikaner: The Indian Air Force’s MiG-21 fighter jets, the backbone of its combat fleet for over six decades, made their last operational flights at the Nal Air Force Station in Bikaner, a month ahead of the formal retirement ceremony to be held in Chandigarh on September 26.
As part of the symbolic farewell, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh flew solo sorties of the MiG-21 from Nal on August 18-19, marking an emotional moment for the force and for generations of pilots trained on the Russian-origin fighter jet that served the force for 62 years.
“The MiG-21 has been the workhorse of the IAF since its induction in the 1960s and we are still continuing with it. It is one of the most mass-produced supersonic fighter jets in history, with over 11,000 aircraft operated by more than 60 countries,” Air Chief Marshal Singh said after his sortie.
“My first experience with MiG-21 was in 1985, when I flew the Type-77 variant at Tezpur. It was a revelation -- agile, highly manoeuvrable, and simple in design, though it required some initial training. It’s an amazing aircraft to fly. It will be missed by all who flew it,” he said.
“At maximum reheat, it could climb more than 250 metres per second. It was made to intercept, and in that role, it served India remarkably well. But everything has a time and place. The technology is now outdated and difficult to maintain. It is time to move to new platforms such as the Tejas, Rafales and Su-30s,” he added.
Tejas was actually designed as a replacement for MiG-21. It was designed around MiG-21 and it was conceived from some kind of motivation from Mirage, the IAF chief said.