Over 200 MiG-21 Pilots Lost Lives In Different Crashes In Last 60 Years; Why It Still Remain In Service?

In the last 60 years, over 400 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft have crashed, and the incidents have claimed the lives of more than 200 pilots and 60 civilians.

The aircraft was again in the headlines on Thursday (July 28) as two pilots were killed when a MiG-21 trainer aircraft crashed during a training sortie in Rajasthan's Barmer. The IAF has initiated a court of inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.

"Around 9:10 pm, the aircraft met with an accident near Barmer, and both pilots sustained fatal injuries; the IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families," the IAF said in a statement that The Hindu reported.

At 9:10 pm this evening, an IAF MiG 21 trainer aircraft met with an accident in the western sector during a training sortie.
Both pilots sustained fatal injuries.

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 28, 2022

Recent Crashes

MiG-21 Bison has had six crashes in the last two years, with five crashes in 2021 and one in 2022. These incidents led to 5 pilots losing their lives.

The IAF has 32 squadrons against the 42 mandated by the government to tackle threats as of now. The number might fall to 28 squadrons by 2024-25, which also happens to be the phasing-out period of MiGs, as reported by The Indian Express.

Longest Serving Fighter Jet

India got its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, and since then, 874 variants of the Soviet-origin supersonic fighters have been inducted. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has built over 60 per cent of them. The new sensors and weapons were installed in the aircraft in 2000.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down an F-16 fighter of Pakistan using one of these updated versions of MiG-21, as reported by India Today.

Why Is MiG-21 Still In Service?

There have been delays in the induction of new fighter aircraft, which leaves the IAF with no option but to continue with MiG-21.

Political controversies surrounding the Rafael deal, delays in the indigenous Tejas programme and slow-paced procurement procedure led to MiGs being used even post their retirement phase, which was the late 1990s.

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