MiG-21 retires after 62 yrs in service: IAF bids farewell to ‘flying coffin’; why it is a huge deal

NEW DELHI: After serving for over six many years and taking part in all main conflicts, the MiG-21 fighter jet is about to retire from the Indian Air Power, with a ceremonial farewell scheduled for September.The ultimate MiG-21 jets, belonging to quantity 23 Squadron, generally known as the Panthers, can be retired on September 19 throughout a ceremony on the Chandigarh airbase. The plane go away behind a combined legacy, as soon as India’s first supersonic jets that offered a strategic edge within the Nineteen Sixties and ’70s, they have been later marred by frequent accidents, incomes the nickname ‘flying coffin’.With the retirement of Squadron 23, the Indian Air Power’s fight energy will drop to simply 29 squadrons, its lowest because the Nineteen Sixties. Even throughout the 1965 struggle, the IAF maintained 32 fighter squadrons.Inducted in 1963, the MiG-21 fighter jets have served the Air Power for 62 years in numerous variations. They performed key roles within the 1965 struggle with Pakistan, the 1971 Bangladesh liberation struggle, the 1999 Kargil battle, and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes. Even throughout the ongoing Operation Sindoor, the final lively MiG-21 squadron has remained on operational alert.“No different fighter has been related to the IAF for so long as the MiG-21 – an unbelievable two-thirds of the IAF’s 93-year historical past is inextricably linked to this jet. It has served in each fight motion since 1965, via to Op Sindoor, and has touched the profession of practically each Indian fighter pilot alive in the present day, in some kind or one other. There is no such thing as a doubt this can be an emotional farewell to a legend of Indian skies,” aviation knowledgeable Angad Singh was quoted as saying by the ET.Sources quoted by ET mentioned ceremony can be attended by senior air power officers and veterans who’ve been related to the MiG-21 fleet through the years. The occasion will characteristic flypasts and static shows to commemorate the event.Along with holding the file for the longest service within the Indian Air Power, the MiG-21 fleet was additionally the most important ever operated by the nation. India acquired over 850 MiG-21 plane, together with coach variants, with practically 600 constructed domestically by Hindustan Aeronautics Restricted (HAL).Though the MiG-21’s operational life was thought-about lengthy over, the Air Power continued extending the fleet’s service on account of delays in buying ample fashionable fighter jets. The remaining squadrons have been initially set to get replaced by the indigenous Gentle Fight Plane (LCA Mk1A), however repeated delays in deliveries have pushed again the transition.With inputs from Manu Pubby