IAF retires last MiG-21s, ending six-decade era

The Indian Air Force formally retired its last Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG21 fighters on Friday in a ceremonial flypast over Chandigarh, closing a six-decade chapter in the service’s history. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan and the three service chiefs attended the event, which saw the type’s final variant, the upgraded Bison, lead a farewell sortie commanded by the air force chief, officials said.

India first bought the supersonic MiG21 in 1963 under a deal with the Soviet Union that included licensed production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The needle-nosed jet quickly became a mainstay of the IAF, entering service in 1963 and spawning domestic manufacture by the mid 1960s. Over successive upgrades the aircraft evolved from a short-range interceptor into a multirole platform; later versions fitted Russian radar, Israeli electronic-warfare systems, Western navigation gear and modern missiles such as the R77 and R73, defence historians and IAF records show.

The MiG21 has had a prominent combat record in Indian service. It flew in the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, played a key role in the 1999 Kargil conflict and was among the jets deployed in...