Whenever a voice was raised against the MiG-21 fighter jet, then the Indian Air Force heads closed the world by flying in this oldest fighter aircraft made in Russia as the MiG-21 fighter jet for the Indian Air Force was in the most trusted aircrafts for the last 60 years. Now that after a full 62 years, MiG-21 will fill its last flight from Chandigarh Airbase, the current head of the Indian Air Force will be present in it, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh himself.

Usually, whenever an aircraft retires, the Indian Air Force quietly gets lost in the darkness of oblivion, but the retirement ceremony of MiG-21 fighter jet, which is the most controversies, is also preparing to grow highly as MiG-21’s name is the longest time to protect the air boundaries of the country, as well as record the world’s most modern fighter jets.

Mig-21 will be posted in IAF instead of 21 Lca Tejas fighter jet

On Friday (September 26, 2025), during the retirement ceremony in Chandigarh, the MiG-21 fighter aircraft will join an operational drill for the last time and will be replaced forever indigenous LCA Tejas fighter jet. During the drill, light combat aircraft i.e. LCA Tejas will also be seen flying symbolically behind MiG-21. During this, the current and former MiG-21 pilots including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh of the Indian Air Force and six former Air Chief will also be present at the Chandigarh airbase.

The MiG-21 fighter jet in the Indian Air Force has flew for 16 lakh hours. It is believed that 90 percent of all the fighter pilots of the Air Force have blown MiG-21 at this time. In such a situation, this is a glorious moment for the Air Force as well as a passionate moment.

MiG-21 dusted Pakistan in the 1965 war

After the defeat of China in the 1962 war, when India was delivered to the supersonic fighter Jet MiG-21 before Russia in the very next year i.e. 1963, every countryman’s chest swelled proudly. Because MiG-21 was confident that the enemy’s sixes would definitely be released in the war. Not using the Air Force in the war with China also stings the country like a canker till date. It was the power of MiG-21 that within two years, India had dusted Pakistan in the 1965 war within two years.

600 MiG-21 is ready in India

The 1971 war also included the MiG-21 fighter aircraft in a decisive bombing at the house of East Pakistan’s Governor in Dhaka, due to which 93,000 soldiers from Pakistan surrendered to India. Over time, fighter jets of new category and advanced technology continued to come around the world, but the Indian Air Force continued with MiG-21. In such a situation, the government started construction of MiG-21 in India on the basis of license from Russia. Since 1963, the Air Force has operated around 800 MiG-21, out of which 600 has been constructed in India itself.

PAK’s F-After killing 16, the world accepted iron

After continuous crash, when MiG-21 was catching the demand for retirement, this Russian fighter jet did so that the whole world pressed his fingers under the teeth. The western countries, which once called the Russian aircraft as a rust (rusty iron bucket), also accepted the iron of MiG-21. When there was a dog-fight between India and Pakistan after the Balakot Airtaark, Indian MiG-21 killed Pakistan’s US F-16 fighter aircraft. By that time, F-16 was considered very modern and advanced aircraft from MiG-21. The MiG-21 of India was fought by Wing Commander Abhinandan, who entered the airspace of Pakistan chasing F-16.

At present, the Indian Air Force had two (02) squadron of MiG-21, which was posted on the Naal (Bikaner) airbase in Rajasthan. During Operation Sindoor, both these squadrons were also kept on alert. That is another thing that these squadrons were not used for flying since 2023.

MiG-21 filled its last flight in the year 2023 in Prayagraj on Air Force Day (8 October 2023). Due to the frequent crash, MiG-21 was ‘ground’ since then. At the same time, the then Air Force Chief VR Chaudhary announced the retirement of MiG-21.

MiG-21 named Flying-Coffin named after continuous crash

In the last 60 years, around 400 Air Force aircraft have crashed, after which there was a demand for these aircraft to be removed from the Air Force continuously. In view of the incidents of Crash of MiG-21, he was being named flying-kaffin. India’s 170 pilots have died in these accidents.

The crash continued after the upgrade of MiG-21 was upgraded

A movie like ‘Rang De Basanti’ was also made in Bollywood on the theme of being in the crash of the country’s brave fighter pilot in large numbers. But the Air Force did not have a new fighter aircraft to replace these MiG-21 fighter jets. Therefore, the Air Force was compelled to protect the aircraft of the country from these fighter jets. But when the pressure was under pressure, the Air Force upgraded these MiG-21 and was given the new name ‘Bison’, MiG-21 Bison. But the process of crash continued still continued.

Hal Doing doing Lca Mark 1-A fighter aircraft construction

The Air Force needs Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark-1A instead of MiG-21 fighter jets, which is an upgrade version of LCA-Tejas. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited i.e. HAL is building these light fighter jets. But due to the delay in delivery of Aviation engine (F-404) from the US, the construction of Mark-1A has been hindered. In the same year, the US GE company has delivered three (03) engines. In such a situation, the construction of Mark-1A is likely to accelerate.

Indian Air Force will get 180 instead of MiG-21 Lca Mark-1 a fighter jet

In the year 2021, the Ministry of Defense signed an 83 LCA Mark-1A fighter aircraft from HAL. The total price of this deal was 48 thousand crores. Of these, 10 are Mark-1A trainer aircraft. HAL claims that by 2027-28, the Air Force will get all Mark-1A aircraft. Mark-1A fighter jet is advanced from LCA Tejas. BVR i.e. Beyond Visual Range Missile, Air-to-Air Refueling, AISA radar, electronic warfare suit, including Early Warning radar system, is more fatal than Mark-1A, LCA Tejas. Recently, the government has announced to buy 97 additional Mark-1A. In such a situation, these 180 fighters will replace MiG-21 completely.

Lca Mark-1A’s first cobra squadron to be posted in Rajasthan

The first squadron of Mark-1A will be deployed at the Naal Airbase (Bikaner) of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, which will be known as Cobra. Initially, three squadron of Mark-1A will be erected. All three squadron will be deployed at the forward location airbase of the Western Border, the border adjacent to the Pakistani. It is believed that the second squadron will be deployed at Nalia Airbase in Kutch, Gujarat.

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MiG-21, the oldest and brave warrior of the Indian Air Force, is formally retiring next month. This fighter aircraft, which protected the sky for about six decades, was once called the “backbone of the Air Force”. MiG-21 waved India’s victory in many important campaigns from the 1971 war. But increasing technical challenges and accidents have put a complete stop on its journey. Now this aircraft will always be remembered by becoming a glorious chapter of Indian defense history. On Monday (August 25, 2025), the MiG-21 fighter jets took their final flight at the air base at Naal in Bikaner. These aircraft will be given a final farewell in the formal retirement ceremony held in Chandigarh on 26 September.

Air Force chief filled the final flight of MiG
Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh flew from Nal to MiG-21 on August 18-19 on the symbolic farewell of MiG-21. It was a passionate moment for several generations of trained pilots on a fighter aircraft of the Russian origin serving the Air Force for 62 years. Air Chief Marshal Singh said after his flight- ‘MiG-21 has been the most powerful fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force since its inception in the 1960s and we are still using it. It is one of the highest, large -scale supersonic fighter aircraft in history, with more than 11,000 aircraft used in more than 60 countries.

VIDEO | Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh Takes A Sortie in Mig-21 Aircraft in Bikaner. The IAF is all set to bid adeiu mig-21 aircraft from operation roles on September 26.#Indianairforce #mig21 pic.twitter.com/7t9nqcszk7

– Press Trust of India (@Pti_News) August 25, 2025

MiG-21 starts in India
In 1963, India won the first batch of MiG-21 aircraft. A total of 13 aircraft were brought during this period. At that time, the Air Force was looking for a high-altitude interceptor that could compete with aircraft like American U-2 spy plane. This was the reason that India bought MiG-21. MiG-21 was not limited to interceptors only. Over time its role reached ground attack, fighter reconnaissance mission, air defense and even new pilots training. However, training was not part of its original design. Initially, permission to fly MiG-21 was given only to the most experienced pilots of the Indian Air Force. The reason for this was its challenging flight capabilities. The small size of the aircraft, limited cockpit visibility and landing speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour made it extremely difficult for new pilots.

MiG-21 made historical contribution in many wars
The contribution of MiG-21 in many wars was historic. The aircraft participated in the 1965 war and played an important role in the 1971 battle on the attack on the Governor’s residence in Dhaka, especially on 14 December. The Governor resigned the next day and on 16 December, Pakistan surrendered and 93,000 of its soldiers laid down their arms. Subsequently, in 1999, under the Operation White Sea, the aircraft also showed enlightenment when MiG-21 killed a Pakistani Atlantic aircraft infiltrating Indian territory. In the 2010s, MiG-21 showed its strength when India launched accurate airstrikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. At the same time, this aircraft remained active in the 2020s and played an important role in Ladakh patrolling the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Air Force’s backbone remained for decades
Despite the difficulties, the MiG-21 remained the favorite aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Not only this, it remained the backbone of the Air Force until Russia-made Sukhoi SU-30MKI was included in the fleet in the mid-2000s. During the years MiG-21 was continuously upgraded to modern weapons and avionics. This made it much more than “just one fighter jet”. MiG-21 was not just a fighter jet, but it also became a symbol of strong military relations in India-Russia. This relationship also persists for decades like MiG-21 and is equally strong today.

Price of MiG-21
What was the exact price of MiG-21 in the 1960s is not clear, but this aircraft was considered very cheap due to mass production. Its cost was much lower than the western fighter jets like F-4 phantom of that time. During this period, the Israeli intelligence agency gave an Iraqi pilot 3 million dollars in lieu of its MiG-21. It is clear that at that time it was important to achieve this aircraft for testing.