An iconic Russian-origin aircraft that heralded the supersonic era in the Indian Air Force bid adieu from the duty after 50 years of service during which it played a stellar role in liberating Bangladesh.
Four MiG-21 FL (Type-77) aircraft flown by pilots from the IAF’s Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), the last abode of the venerable jets, flew a “box formation” as Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne took salute at a ceremonial parade at Kalaikunda air station, about 200 km from Kolkata.
On Wednesday, a MiG-21 FL bearing tail number C-1125, was towed out of the parade square to the tune of 'Auld Lang Syne' with wing walkers marching alongside. As it passed by, the MiG-21's silence for once seemed equally deafening as it would have normally sounded with afterburner ignited. “The event marks a watershed moment in the IAF history as we reach the end of nearly five decades of remarkable operational service rendered by this iconic fighter,” said Browne who like generations of IAF officers, cut his teeth on these fighters.
The induction of first batch of six MiG 21-FL (Type-77) way back in March-April 1963 heralded the arrival of IAF in the ‘Supersonic era’ and gave the pilots unprecedented combat versatility and operational flexibility. Being limited in numbers, the MiG-21s played a restricted role in the 1965 war. But in the 1971 war, they gave IAF air superiority over vital points and areas in the western theatre.
In the first ever supersonic air combat that ensued over the sub-continent in 1971, an Indian MiG-21 FL claimed a Pakistan Air Force F-104 Starfighter with its internal twin-barrelled guns alone. By end of the hostilities, IAF Mig-21s had claimed four Pakistani F-104s, two F-6s, one F-86 Sabre and a Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The pin-point accurate attack on the Governor's House at Dhaka by IAF pilots flying the MiG-21s proved to be a turning point in the war forcing the adversary to negotiate an eventual surrender.
India acquired 120 MiG-21s by 1969 but the number increased later when Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began manufacturing the jets in India. By 1972, IAF had about nine-and-a-half squadrons of the MiG-21FL (Type 77).
The first 54 jets were test-flown in the USSR, then dismantled and shipped to India for reassembly while the first one built completely from scratch in India was handed over to the IAF in 1970. The iconic jet that has been flown by nearly three out of every four fighter pilots since inception in the IAF. The IAF chief earlier stated two more MiG-21 variants – Type-96 and Type-75 – would also be phased out in near future whereas upgraded MiG-21 BISONs will continue to fly till 2025.