MiG-21 Warhorse: Now not to Roar in Indian Skies

WgCdr Mahesh Chander Sudan

We, the people of India, have witnessed eventful journey of Independent India since 15 Aug 1947. The journey of Independent India started from the basics of life and could surmount many challenges posed either by nature or the technological advancements made across the globe especially in the field of defense to ensure security and safety of the people and territory of the country from external aggressions made by our estranged neighbors.

Independent India started growing in all sectors including defense in a balanced and planned manner to attain self-sufficiency in Agriculture, Industry, trade, commerce, education, communication through technological advancement to keep pace with the international comity of nations. As regards the defence, the Chinese aggression of 1962 compelled political leaders of that time to redraw national priorities to enhance defence mechanism across the spectrum by equipping Indian Army with latest technological arsenal. All three defence forces operating on Land, Air and Sea were equipped with machines, guns and airborne platforms to enhance the combat capability to instill peace across the national borders of a sovereign country. As a result, supersonic fighter jets of Soviet Era known as MiG-21 were inducted.
Induction and Association of MiG-21 with IAF
The Soviet Era MiG-21, also first supersonic jet of India, was inducted into Indian Air Force in the year 1963 and occupied a major chunk of inventory of aircraft held by IAF that played a crucial role in defending Indian sky against foreign aggressions. A sixty two years long association of the MiG-21 with IAF is replete with many valorous successes. This iconic fighter jet leaves behind a combat record that may remain unmatched in the aviation history. The aircraft took part in every major conflict from the 1965 war with Pakistan to the recent operation Sindoor with significant contributions towards air defense of the country. It undoubtedly gave an edge in aerial combat to the country throughout 1960s and 1970s. India held more than 800 MiG-21s in total and around 600 of them werelicense built by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited including various variants like MiG-FL, MiG-21M, MiG-21Bis and the final version of MiG-21Bisan in India. No other fighter as on date has been associated with Indian Air Force as long as MiG-21. Most of us must have heard the deafening sound that roared during takeoff or while ripping through the skies mid-flight that used to instill fear in the enemy ranks if it ever thundered overhead. Appreciably, the MiG-21 was designed for a service life of 20-25 years with expected retirement by mid 1990s. Its use beyond intended service life, combined with design limitations and maintenance challenges, difficulty in sourcing spare parts as the Soviet Union ceased its production in year 1985 led to frequent malfunctions.
Delay in Phasing Out MiG-21
Delay in phasing out this aircraft occurred for various reasons involving decision making at professional level, procurement processes, production delays and few other constraints faced by the political and defense leadership of the country. No doubt parallel induction of other fighter brands including advance series of MiGs, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Mirages and Jaguars complemented warhorse in the Airborne Combat capability of the Indian Air Force. This warplane was meant to be phased out over a decade ago first by the Tejas MK1 and then by the more advanced MK1A and MK2 variants. However, as the MiG-21 is now being phased out in the month of Sep 2025, there are no fully available replacements to fill the gap. This delay has recently been highlighted by the present Chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh while delivering his talk at one of the media interaction.
Ceremonial Retirement of the Warplane
The Government of India has now finally decided to retire its fleet of Russian Origin MiG-21 in the month of Sep 2025. As the ceremonial farewell is reportedly scheduled to be held on 19 Sep 2025 at Chandigarh, the final aircraft belonging to 23 Squadron, also known as Panther will be decommissioned in this special ceremony. On this day, the iconic fighter aircraft will blend in the historical past of the Indian Air Force that has played a key role in the Indian military campaigns and wars and also earned both celebrations as a formidable war machine and stigmatized as “flying Coffin” due to high rate of accidents that killed around 170 Indian Air Force pilots. Around 300 aircraft have been lost in accidents out of total around 1000 aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force during six decade of its stay in the aviation record. It may also be appreciated that MiG-21 was first supersonic fighter acquired by the Indian Air Force and transition from subsonic to supersonic arena also raised concern of the aviators due to demanding characteristics like small size of aircraft, limited cockpit visibility and high landing speed of over 300km/h that makes it unforgiving for newly inducted pilots.
What Next After MiG-21
This fighter aircraft is reportedly said to be replaced by Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A and the delay in the delivery of indigenous jets has not only pushed back the phase-out time line but may also affect the combat aircraft inventory of the Indian Air Force for some times. At the same time, warplane has a rich legacy that made an Air Veteran fighter pilot, Air Commodore Surender Singh Tyagi (Retd) aged 83 years, have earned 4306 flying hours with 6316 sorties to plan submitting his heartfelt request for one final sortie to the Chief of the Air Staff to show his unparalleled connection with MiGs. To keep pace with the contemporary aviation world, the retirement of the iconic warplane has been long planned as the IAF is transitioning to modern platforms like the indigenous Tejas, Rafale and upcoming Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). However, the sense of separation for all times from an aircraft of MiG glory connects me to my young days with the Indian Air Force when I got posted to Air Force Station Pune where almost 16 years old MiG aircraft used to roar their thunderous decibels over the airfield both while taking off and landing on the runways. Early morning flying by these warhorses used to awake not only fighter pilots, technical staff, Air Traffic Controllers but the entire residents of the Air Force Station.
On 19 Sep 2025, an iconic fighter aircraft will be ceremonially bid farewell at Air Force Station Chandigarh by the pilots of 23 Squadron and veterans like Air CmdeTyagi (Retd) who may be opportune to get permission for a sortie. His final sortie, if permitted, would surely honor his personal legacy and also make it a symbolic farewell to an aircraft that shaped India’s Air Power.

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