MiG-21 did IAF proud, but overstayed its welcome

THE legendary MiG-21 aircraft is set to fly into the sunset after having served as the mainstay of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for decades. The Russian-origin fighter jet, which was inducted in 1963 in the wake of the India-China war, made its presence felt in the 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars against Pakistan, besides the 2019 Balakot airstrikes. However, its safety record repeatedly came under scrutiny. According to government data, more than 500 MiG-21s crashed in 60-odd years, killing over 170 pilots; these mishaps claimed the lives of dozens of civilians as well. The notorious tag of “flying coffin” was too hard to shed.

Many lives could have been saved had the IAF retired the MiG-21 a few years ago. The phaseout took an inordinately long time because of delays in the supply of the indigenously built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (Mark1A) by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has been flagging such project delays ever since he took over as the Chief of Air Staff last year. The lesson from the MiG saga is that timelines are of the essence for modernisation in the defence sector.

The MiG-21 was upgraded over the years and equipped with advanced missiles as well as radars and better avionics, but the risk factor remained high due to a lack of ultra-modern safety features. There is no doubt that today’s warfare cannot be fought with yesterday’s weapon systems, as pointed out by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan recently. The IAF should proactively make efforts to replenish its fighter squadron strength, which has dropped to a worrisome 29 — far short of the sanctioned strength of 42. Playing a waiting game can be perilous as China and Pakistan are bent on keeping India on its toes.

Editorials