CHANDIGARH: After 62 years, the Soviet-origin iconic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, IAF's first supersonic air combat interceptor, will fly into the sky for different formations at the decommissioning ceremony at the Chandigarh Air Force base on September 26.
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and a woman fighter pilot, Squadron Leader Priya Sharma, will be among the six pilots to fly the lost sortie.
A full dress rehearsal of the September 26 ceremony was held today. At present, the air force currently has two MiG-21 squadrons, the No 23 Squadron, known as “Panthers”, and the No 3 Squadron, called as “Cobras.”
There will be a three-aircraft Badal formation and a five-aircraft Panther formation.
Six MiG-21s belonging to the 23 Squadron will participate in the final fly past ceremony and will be given a ceremonial water cannon salute as they land.
The Jaguars and the locally produced Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1) will also take part in the ceremony. Notably, the elite Surya Kiran aerobatic team will enthral the people with skilful aerobatic feats. Para jumpers of the Akash Ganga skydiving team of the IAF will perform, too.
As per the programme, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, all three service chiefs -- army, air force and navy -- six former air chiefs and all the commanders-in-Chief of IAF commands will attend the event.
These Soviet-origin fighter jets, inducted in 1963, were the first batch of 10 aircraft that arrived in April that year. These were the first supersonic fighters of the country, with its maiden squadron, the 28 Squadron (Chandigarh), earning the nickname First Supersonics.
A deal with the Soviet Union was signed in 1962 and the first batch of eight pilots was trained at Lugvoya Airbase in Kazakhstan.
Over the years, more than 800 MiG-21s of different variants were inducted, many built domestically by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which began license production in 1966 at its Nashik plant.
A total of 1,200 aircraft of different variants were procured till 2010, with later variants undergoing significant upgrades.
After the dress rehearsal, Wing Commander Jaideep Singh, spokesman of the IAF, said, "The ingenuity the air force has shown that we have used this aircraft for all roles, be it photo reconnaissance, strike, air defence, or as an interceptor. This aircraft holds a lot of meaning and value to all the pilots who have flown it. It was also a fighter trainer for generations of fighter pilots who have stepped in after basic training.‘’
"A limited number of MiG-21s were operated in the 1965 operations; however, the major success was in 1971 -- the famous strike over the governor’s residence in Dhaka, then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, which accelerated the process of ending the war. They were used in Kargil for reconnaissance and bombing as high as 18,000 feet. It was also used in the 2019 Balakot air strikes. It was in a MiG-21 that Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman (then Wing Commander) shot down a Pakistani F-16 in 2019 before being captured across the border,’’ he said.
Singh added, "The IAF has inducted close to 874 MiG-21s of various types, first, type 74, then type 76, then type 77 and then 96 and Bison. We had upgraded these jets with contemporary missiles, EW and avionics.’’
"The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is meant as the MiG-21 replacement; we are looking for the LCA to come into the IAF in huge numbers,’’ he said.
Significantly, more than 400 MiG-21s had been involved in accidents which claimed the lives of around 200 pilots, unfortunately being known as “Flying Coffin”.