It is easy to vilify, but hard to
criticise, and agonising to witness unfortunate demise of sky warriors—the
warrior, the legend, the MiG-21 which is unnecessarily maligned.
After having a charismatic career of
more than 60 years, some of the last of the remaining MiG-21 fleet were
relocated in 2023 to the NAL Air Force Base in Bikaner of Rajasthan. These are
scheduled to be replaced by India's indigenous Tejas Mk1A. Unfortunately,
everything is not green on its side. Once a mainstay of the IAF and a proud
witness of an astonishing combat record in services, it has now plunged into
dwindling reputation, earning the misnomer "Flying Coffin," plagued
by an alarmingly high crash rate in the past several decades.
The MiG-21 was envisioned as a delta wing light fighter aircraft in the
early fifties, mainly to intercept long range American bombers as the Cold War
just started to erect its fangs. Initially mired in limitations, it gradually
proved itself as one of the most successful designs of its time. It bears the
legacy of being the most produced supersonic jet fighter and the longest serving
fighter jet with a history of more than sixty years! Out of a total production
of around 12,000, 1200 have seen services with IAF, of which 840 subjects were
license produced by HAL.
In
India it entered into service in 1963, just four years after induction by the
Soviets when F-13 (Type-74) equipped the newly raised No. 28 Squadron,
"First Supersonics." It was quickly followed by Type-75, which,
however, had little contribution in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Post-war
saw the induction of newer models on a war footing, paving the way for HAL to
start manufacturing on Indian soil in 1971. The 1971 war saw extensive action
by Fishbed, with at least eight air victories and just one loss (two more
victories and one loss in later years). The magnificent performance of the
MiG-21FL (Type-77) against the US made F-104A Starfighter made a special place
in the hearts of IAF pilots, which is still undented. In fact, many other
nations sought help from India to train their pilots in MiG-21. Post the war,
gradually Type-96, Type-88, and ultimately 'Bis' succeeded the production line.
Though a large number of two seat trainer versions of the Mongol (Type-66 and
69) have also seen service.
In the early eighties, as India took the
initiative for an indigenous light combat aircraft (the future Tejas), it was
also indoctrinated for extensive modernisation of the MiG-21 fleet to face the
rapidly changing combat environment. The 'Bis' fleet was exclusively new at
that time. So this version was selected for the extension of the Total
Technical Life (TTL) under the MiG-21-93 programme. An award of contract at a
total cost of US $626 million was given to MiG-MAPO in 1996 for modernisation
of avionics, much capable armaments and incorporation of indigenous components.
Finally, in 2001, HAL built an upgraded platform and conducted the first
flight, providing the much needed oxygen to the old birds. They got a better
cockpit view, a conformal ECM dispensing system, a new RWR, a Kopyo multi-mode
radar system, a Totem 221G ring-laser gyro-aiming navigation system, and a new
helmet mounted sighting system. Initially known as UPG, the upgraded model
became popular as BUG (Bis Up Grade) by the pilots, and ultimately, in 2002, it
was officially designated as "Bison.". The No. 3 Squadron (Cobras)
became the first to be equipped with Bisons. A total of 125 Bis were upgraded
to the Bison variant.
Despite such a bright career, its
charisma has been blemished by a large number of crashes and accidents
involving the platform. Since induction, according to reports, more than 400
MiG-21s have been lost, taking the lives of over 200 pilots and another 60
civilians. In the last ten years, the MiG-21 has faced more than twenty unfortunate
incidents. For decades there has been a vehement demand for a quick replacement
with a better and safer platform, particularly with the LCA Tejas. But despite
all the enthusiasm, no immediate replacement could be arranged due to
continuous delays in the LCA programme for various reasons.
While retired sky warriors and some
aviation experts alike agree on the replacement of the MiG-21, they vehemently
discard obloquy as mere misinterpretation. They have pointed out that the
MiG-21, being the backbone of the IAF for several decades for obvious reasons,
faced mishaps in larger numbers than others. As days passed and electronic
media witnessed a rapid rise in terms of mass appeal, the public became much
more aware of the subjects than ever. Besides in the past, many different types
of aircraft of the MiG family (e.g., MiG-23) were erroneously reported as
MiG-21 after crashes to the chagrin of IAF personnel, veterans and aviation
experts. All of these together besmirched the reputation of the aircraft.
The
reasons behind the accidents and crashes have been ascribed to various reasons
ranging from human error to technical defects, bird strikes and even lack of a
supersonic jet trainer. But most of these are common reasons behind crashes of
any air platform around the world; it always has been. Unfortunately, in the
future too we will witness contretemps; it's inevitable. But simultaneously it
also can't be denied that all those old platforms should have gone by now. In
fact, it was the late seventies when the IAF projected a need for the MiG-21
replacement. In 1982, the Air Staff Target (AST) 201 was issued for such, and a
team was formed under Dr. Valluri. Prolonged usage of these is stultifying IAF
to explore the full potential. The planned retirement of the MiG-21 has been
delayed on several occasions. One can be surprised to know that the induction
of new replacements was once planned for 1995! But Tejas achieved initial
operational clearance only in 2011. The decommissioning of the MiG-21 was
planned for 2017, delayed later to 2019, and now cannot be clearly stated
amidst global supply chain issues affecting production of the Tejas Mk1A (as of
January 2025). There has been an argument that without a proper replacement,
these platforms couldn't be retired, especially when many of the airframes had
considerable TTL left. In the last several decades, from defence minister to
chief of air staff, has taken sorties to dispel apprehensions about its safety.
In the end, it cannot be denied that the
entire MiG-21 fleet should have been retired a long time ago. Whatever be the
reasons, the lack of a viable replacement in time has forced the IAF to
continue with the old warrior to keep the squadron strength from plummeting.
But now, as the LCA Tejas Mk.1 is a reality and the Mk.1A too has already conducted
the first flight, the much needed relief is in sight. One thing should not be
forgotten: all existing squadrons operating MiG-21s will not necessarily be
replaced by only Tejas, as the IAF will deploy platforms according to the
needs. Needs will keep changing amidst a rapidly evolving, multi-domain combat
environment. So not by the role but as a platform, Tejas will replace MiG-21 in
the air force. One thing is certain: the indigenous LCA Tejas will rule the sky
as an accredited successor to the Fishbed.
Article
by Sankalan Chattopadhyay
(Twitter/X:
@vinoddx9)
All
photos: Simon Watson