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Journalism of Courage
A couple of weeks after MiG-21 crash, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to ground the entire fleet till checks are carried out and investigation into the incident was complete, ANI reported.
“The MiG-21 fleet has been grounded till the investigations are carried out and reasons for the crash are ascertained,” senior defence officials told ANI.
A MiG-21 fighter jet of the IAF crashed on May 8 near Rajasthan’s Suratgarh while it was on a routine operational training sortie.
While the pilot sustained minor injuries after ejection, the aircraft wreckage fell on a house in Bahlol Nagar in Hanumangarh district in the state, killing three civilians.
The exact cause of the accident is not known and will be established by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) which has been ordered on the incident.
Here is a look at the aircraft, its illustrious history, past crashes and its phaseout plans.
The MiG-21s are among the six fighter jets presently flown by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and for a long period of time has been the backbone of the IAF.
The MiG-21s are single engine, single-seater multi-role fighter/ground attack aircraft. While they were first inducted in 1963 as an interceptor aircraft, over the next few decades they were upgraded to perform a variety of roles performed by a fighter aircraft, including ground attack.
India has procured over 700 MiG-21 aircraft of different variants since then, such as the Type-77, Type-96 and the BIS. The latest of them are the MiG-21 Bison, which is an upgraded aircraft with advanced missiles and radars and better avionics. Over a 100 MiG-21s with the IAF have been upgraded to Bison since 2006.
The aircraft in the past had proved their mettle in several wars fought by India.
For instance, in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the MiG-21s (Type 77 variant) had played a major role in swaying the war’s result in India’s favour.
The combat jet was also among the mainstay of the IAF in the 1965 war and the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
In 2019, Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman (then a Wing Commander) of the erstwhile Srinagar-based No 51 squadron was flying a MiG-21 Bison when he downed a F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.
As per available government data, close to 500 MiG-21s have crashed in the last 60 years, killing over 170 pilots. More than 20 aircraft have crashed since 2010. In fact, in the very first year of its induction in 1963, two of the Soviet-era aircraft had crashed.
In July last year, a trainer version of the fighter aircraft crashed killing two pilots on board and in 2021, there were five MiG-21 Bison crashes that killed three pilots.
The reasons for the crashes have been several — ranging from technical defects, human error, bird hits or spatial disorientation of pilots in certain circumstances.
There are three squadrons of MiG-21 Bison aircraft currently in service in the IAF. Each squadron comprises 16-18 aircraft, aside from one or two trainer versions.
In September last year, the decorated No 51 squadron was number plated. The three MiG-21 Bison squadrons are planned to be phased out by December 2025.
The IAF has a sanctioned squadron strength of 42, even as its current squadron strength is around 30.
Phasing out the fighter jets earlier would bring down the IAF’s fighter squadron strength at dangerously low levels, especially till they are replaced by the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas squadrons.
Last year, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said that the IAF can at the most reach 35 squadrons by next decade even after considering new fighter acquisitions and the planned phasing out of existing squadrons of ageing fighter jets.
Senior IAF officers, particularly those who have flown the aircraft, have often said the aircraft did not have an abysmal safety record when compared to the number of flying hours and the years in service and have on various occasions highlighted the rigorous maintenance and checks that every fighter aircraft undertakes before going on a sortie.
