MiG-21 set to retire: A dive into the aircraft's long date with accidents

Over 400 Mig-21 fighter aircrafts have crashed since 1971-72 claiming the lives of more than 200 pilots and another 50 people on the ground, according to a news report

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near Rajasthan's Barmer district on July 28. The aircraft went down in the western sector at 9:10 p.m. in the evening. The crash claimed lives of the two IAF pilots when the aircraft was on a training sortie. The Indian Air Force has mentioned that a court of inquiry has been ordered into the cause of the accident.

The recent accident adds up to the long list of nearly 300 mishaps involving the MiG 21 aircraft, ever since the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 1963, reveals data on Bharat Rakshak.com.

A Times of India reports paints a more dismal picture. It says over 400 Mig-21 fighter aircrafts have crashed since 1971-72 claiming the lives of more than 200 pilots and another 50 people on the ground.

The IAF has also announced that it is going to retire one more squadron of the Russian combat aircraft fleet- MiG-21 Bison by September 30.

"The 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base is being number plated on September 30. After this, only three squadrons of the planes would be left in service and (those) would be phased out by the year 2025," sources in the IAF told ANI.

History of MiG-21

Designed by the erstwhile Soviet Union's Mikoyan Gurevich group, MiG-21 is India's longest serving fighter aircraft. After its introduction in the early 1960s, the country rapidly updated its combat potential with MiG-21 planes due to the 1962 war with China and the increasing hostalities by Pakistan. Over the years, India got 1,200 MiG planes to safeguard the skies, according to a report by News18 of 2019.

Why IAF still uses MiG-21 aircrafts?

The Indian Air Force still uses the MiG 21 aircrafts after numerous crashes. Forces of many nations, including Bangladesh and Afghanistan, have removed the fighter plane from service.

Asked why the aircraft is still in use, Air Vice Marshal Sunil Nanodkar (retired), told the Hindustan Times, "Was there a choice? You have to have a certain number of fighter planes to guard your skies. The induction of multi-role fighters was delayed, only 36 Rafales came instead of the projected requirement of 126 jets, the light combat aircraft (LCA) programme is behind schedule and fighters such as Sukhoi-30 have had serviceability issues. IAF had to make do with its MiG-21 fleet."

"The MiG-21 Bison is an upgraded aircraft. While the aircraft has got the tag of flying coffins, the safety record of the aircraft is actually good if one compares the years in service and the flying hours," Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retired), the Director General of Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) told ThePrint.