Goodbye MiG-21, new-look Tezpur air base to welcome latest aircraft

“The Tezpur Air Force Station has been a cradle of young fighter pilots of the IAF for several decades. It entered the supersonic era with induction of MiG-21 (FL), also known as MiG -21 (T-77), way back in February 1968. Since then, this station has been home to these supersonic fighter aircraft,” a defence spokesman at Tezpur said.

With the Tezpur air base shutting down in the next few weeks, the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) here will be relocated to other air bases in Eastern Air Command, the defence spokesman said.

Recently, one of the two training units here was shifted to another location within the Eastern Command. Now, the other one will also move out along with the phasing out of the MiG-21 aircraft, the spokesman said.

Since the early 1970s, the Tezpur Air Force Station has housed three fighter squadrons, undertaking operational and training roles. The defence spokesman promptly said, “Most of the IAF fighter pilots had learnt their finest skills here.”