Indian Air Force to retire all MiG-21 fleet in 3 years, MiG-29 phase out also in pipeline

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to phase out the remaining four squadrons of the Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft within a three-year time frame, with one of them likely to retire from service in September this year, according to reports.

The air force plans to retire allfour MiG-21 squadrons by 2025. Currently, the IAF has around 70 MiG-21 aircraft and 50 MiG-29 variants.

Apart from that, plans are also afoot to retire the MiG-29 fleet, with the officials drawing up a timeline to phase out in the next five years.

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Notably, the decision comes days after two IAF pilots died after MiG-21 fighter aircraft they were flying crashed in western Rajasthan's Barmer district on Thursday. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

But the officials maintained that the plan to retire the ageing fleet is part of the IAF’s modernisation drive and not linked to Barmer incident, according to PTI news agency.

Srinagar-based No. 51 squadron, which is also known as “Sword Arms,” is set to be retired by September 30. The squadron generally comprises 17 to 20 aircraft.

MiGs long stay in the IAF

The MiG-21 is India’s longest-serving fighter plane. However, the aircraft has had a very poor safety record of late.

The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau (OKB) of the erstwhile Soviet Union, and it made its maiden flight on 16 June, 1955.

The first fleet of the MiG variant was inducted into the IAF in 1963 and India procured over 700 MiG-variants in the subsequent decades.

India’s decision to buy MiG series should be looked through the prism of 1962 war China and growing hostility from Pakistan. At the time, India was desperately scaling up its military capability to prepare for attack despite cash-strapped economy.

The Soviet Union was willing to sell this fighter aircraft on extremely favourable terms and even agreed for licensed production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Since then the plane has seen several updates and modifications.

In 2000, Indian MiG-21s were upgraded with new censors and weapons. The modified version was later used by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who shot down a F-16 fighter of Pakistan in 2019, a day after India had carried out air strikes in Balakot.

Number of crashes and deaths

Though MiGs are the backbone of the IAF, the aircraft has earned numerous monikers, such as ‘flying coffin’and ‘widow maker’ due to frequent crashes.

According to a Times of India newspaper report, over 400 MiG-21s have crashed since 1971-72, killing over 200 pilots and another 50 people on the ground.

Bharat-Rakshak.com, an aviation website that works closely with the IAF, has documented the accidents that the MiG has seen since its induction. The first two MiG crashes took place in December 1963.

Why is India still using MiG-21?

According to reports, the MiG-21 had completed its retirement period in the mid-1990s.

It is not as if IAF was impervious to the series of crashes and the faulty mechanism of the MiGs. Due to delays in induction of new fighter aircraft, the IAF has been forced to keep the ageing flights to maintain a certain squadron strength to guard India's skies.

Apart from that, there have been delays in the indigenous Tejas programme, political controversy surrounding the Rafael deal and slow-paced procurement procedure. With no avenues to increase the fleet strength, the IAF had to keep MiGs in service longer than usual.

(With inputs from agencies)

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