8 months ago
3
The Indian Air Force's MiG-21, the country's archetypal supersonic combatant and interceptor aircraft, whose induction successful the aboriginal 1960s catapulted the unit into the pitchy age, will roar successful the Indian skies for 1 past clip connected Friday (September 26, 2025), leaving an enduring bequest and countless stories successful its illustrious trail.
But much than anyone else, the pilots who person flown these Soviet-era machines implicit the decades volition bid this workhorse of the Indian Air Force (IAF) a nostalgic farewell.
Veteran aviator and erstwhile IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal A. Y. Tipnis (retd) says the MiG-21 "taught america however to beryllium innovative and nutrient results".
In a recorded video podcast shared by the IAF connected X a time up of the high-profile decommissioning ceremonial successful Chandigarh, helium recalled immoderate of the challenges that helium and different pilots who flew the MiG-21 craft faced erstwhile it was inducted.
Mr. Tipnis began arsenic a combatant aviator successful 1960, and, aboriginal connected helium became portion of MiG-21 squadrons. In July 1977, helium took implicit arsenic the Commanding Officer of No. 23 Squadron equipped with MiG-21 Bis aircraft, according to the IAF website.
"When the MiG-21 came to us, the archetypal benignant that came to america was the Type-74, determination were nary trainers astatine that time. The archetypal solo was connected MiG-21 itself. Difficulty was that not lone determination was nary trainer, nary simulator, but besides successful the full cockpit, thing was written successful English, it was each successful Russian," helium recalls with a whiff of nostalgia.
The seasoned aerial warrior said the velocity measurement portion for them besides abruptly changed from "knots to km/hr" and it excessively was a situation arsenic pilots were "used to knots".
"So, successful the archetypal solo, you are mostly lost, until you came back, and didn't cognize however to negociate it," helium said.
The erstwhile apical IAF officer, who served arsenic the Chief of the Air Staff from December 1998 to December 2001, besides shared that "in MiG-21, we were each flying successful spacesuits, judge it oregon not".
Astronaut Yuri Gagarin, erstwhile helium went up successful space, had the aforesaid unit suit and unit helmet for the archetypal solo, helium said, recalling, "We could hardly determination our cervix from 1 broadside to another."
According to the tentative programme for the decommissioning event, Mr. Tipnis is among the six erstwhile IAF chiefs, others being S. Krishnaswamy, S. P. Tyagi, P. V. Naik, B. S. Dhanoa and R. K. S. Bhadauria, who volition besides be Friday's ceremonial successful Chandigarh, wherever the iconic craft was archetypal inducted implicit six decades ago.
Having been portion of the large stock of the craft successful IAF's inventory for a agelong time, respective of these Russian-origin combatant jets person been progressive successful crashes and resulting nonaccomplishment of lives successful the past, prompting immoderate to picture these bequest platforms arsenic 'flying coffins'.
A erstwhile IAF pilot, who did not privation to beryllium named, said the usage of phrases similar 'flying coffin' by a conception of radical to picture immoderate craft linked with accidents is not appropriate.
"It besides hits the morale of household members of pilots, if specified presumption are utilized to picture an craft they whitethorn beryllium flying," helium said.
The seasoned aerial warrior besides underlined that MiG-21 took portion successful wars successful 1965 and 1971, and the 1999 Kargil conflict, arsenic good arsenic the 2019 Balakot strike.
In 1999, arsenic the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tipnis oversaw Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF's captious run during the conflict.
And, arsenic the IAF gears up for Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21's swansong, the veterans and existent aerial warriors hold that these were jets that "defined generations of pilots".
Mr. Tipnis says IAF pilots utilized their agility with adaptability, due to the fact that it was built for higher altitude flying, "but, we started utilizing it for onslaught purposes, and I think, it speaks tremendously for the IAF".
"By nary means, the MiG-21 is designed for low-flying, due to the fact that the visibility forward, sideward is limited. The IAF, the mode it adapted to low-level flying astatine night, was a singular achievement. The adaptation for this intent was outstanding," helium added.
Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) successful the podcast says, for implicit six decades, the MiG-21 has been a "backbone of the IAF", and "an icon, a trusted companion successful warfare and peace, and a proving crushed for generations of combatant pilots".
The past of the MiG-21 jets, belonging to Squadron No. 23 and nicknamed "Panthers", volition beryllium fixed a farewell astatine the ceremonial to beryllium held astatine the Chandigarh Air Force station.
As portion of the symbolic farewell, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh flew solo sorties of the MiG-21 from Nal aerial basal connected August 18-19, marking an affectional infinitesimal for the unit and for generations of pilots trained connected the Russian-origin combatant pitchy that served the unit for 62 years.
Grp Capt Nanda Rajender, Commanding Officer of Squadron No. 23, who has flown MiG-21 and MiG-21 Bison aircraft, says, "From being the astir precocious combatant successful the 1965 warfare and 1971 war, it has been successful the vanguard of each subject actions by India. Even during Operation Sindoor, it was a bequest fighter, however, it was tasked for ORP [Operational Readiness Platform] duties, and we were acceptable to support the skies if the request was raised." In the podcast, Air Commodore Sathe (retd) quoted the precocious seasoned aerial warrior P. C. Lal, aboriginal IAF chief, who had said, "The MiG-21 gave the IAF wings, it ne'er had before."
And, connected Friday, the past of these machines, carrying the value of past connected their wings, volition alert into the sunset.
