No one drives cars that vintage: IAF chief on MiG-21s

Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa was unhappy about the presence of MiG-21s in India's defence arsenal, saying that the planes are 44 years old and "no one even drives cars that are that vintage", according to an NDTV report.

Dhanoa was speaking at a seminar on modernisation and indigenisation of the Indian Air Force.

The Russian fighter jet was introduced in the Indian Air Force in 1973 and has been "overhauled" - using Indian-made component parts - several times. "Over 95 per cent of components required in overhauling is made in India. The Russians are not flying the MiG but we are because we have overhaul facilities," said Dhanoa.

The report said that more than 100 MiG-21s were upgraded to the MiG-21 Bisons in the last decade, which gave them better communication systems and avionics. However, there have been many MiG crashes over the years.

The air chief hoped that the original MiG-21 will be put out of service next month. "Hopefully, I will fly the last sortie in September, subject to visibility," he said.