The indian air Force is now going to say goodbye to its MiG-21 fighter plane forever. On september 19, 2025, the MiG-21 fighter planes will be out of the indian air Force fleet. The MiG-21 fighter planes are among the oldest and historic fighter planes of the indian air Force.
According to defense officials, these aircraft will be bid farewell during a special program at the 23 Squadron (Panthers) at the chandigarh Airbase. MiG-21 fighter planes were called flying coffins due to becoming old with time and being a victim of frequent accidents.
MiG-21 played an important role in the wars of 1965, 1971 and 1999
There was a time when the MiG-21 was a reliable and strong fighter plane of the indian air Force. This aircraft played an important role in the Indo-Pak war of 1965. After this, the MiG-21 also played an important role in the bangladesh Liberation war of 1971 and the Kargil war of 1999. Not only this, the MiG-21 also played a role in the Balakot air strike on 26 february 2019. The MiG-21 fighter aircraft first joined the indian air Force in 1963. It was India's first supersonic jet and this fighter aircraft has been a part of the indian air Force for 62 years.
After the MiG-21 is out, the air Force squadrons will be reduced to 29. This number of squadrons is even less than during the 1965 war. This shortage can be met with indigenous tejas Mark-1A fighter aircraft. The MiG-21 is a fighter aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union. The MiG-21 last participated in Operation Sindoor in pakistan in 2025.
Tejas Mark-1A will be ready soon
It is noteworthy that the last version of the MiG-21, the MiG-21 Bison, was upgraded in 2000. Despite this, the MiG-21 has been a victim of accidents many times. In the last 60 years, many MiG-21s have crashed, in which many pilots also lost their lives. Therefore, the MiG-21 is also being called a 'flying coffin'. While another MiG-21 is being removed from the air Force fleet, the production of the indian fighter jet tejas Mark-1A is now gaining momentum. The American company has also started supplying jet engines to india for this fighter aircraft. india received GE-404 engines for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) tejas Mark-1A.
GE-404 engines will be installed in tejas Mark-1A
According to defense officials, this is the second jet engine received from the American company. Public sector indian aviation company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is manufacturing Tejas. According to the information, HAL is to get a total of 12 GE-404 engines by the end of this financial year. All these engines will be installed in the indian fighter aircraft tejas Mark-1A.
The indian air Force has ordered 83 LCA tejas Mark-1A fighter aircraft for its fleet. Actually, the indian air Force needs new fighter aircraft. For this, the air Force has opted for indigenous fighter.
