Bikaner (Rajasthan) [India], August 26 (ANI): The last recorded kill of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) legendary MiG-21 Bison fighter jet was a Pakistani F-16 in 2019, following the Balakot operations, when Pakistan tried to launch a counterattack after India carried out an aerial strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 26, targeting terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan.
Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman shot down the F-16 in aerial combat over Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, 2019, a day after India’s Balakot airstrike. However, Abhinandan’s MiG-21 Bison was hit during the engagement, forcing him to eject over enemy-controlled territory.
The aircraft was also deployed in an ‘operational’ role earlier this year in Operation Sindoor, Wing Commander Jaideep Singh said.
“It was also involved in 2019 in the Balakot attack, where Abhinandan had shot down an F-16 fighter aircraft, and then, coming to 2025, Operation Sindoor, it was deployed operationally for its use,” Singh told ANI.
Interestingly, as per Wg Cdr Singh, the MiG-21 has shot down nearly all generations of aircraft. Speaking to ANI, the IAF Wing Commander explained, “MiG-21 has a history of shooting down all generations of aircraft. And the last one was the F-16, which was shot down. It had also shot down, in the 1971 war, the F-104s. The way the Indian Air Force has utilised the MiG-21 operationally, none of the air forces in the world have utilised this.”
Inducted in 1963, the MiG-21 has served for nearly six decades and has been a cornerstone of India’s air power. The first squadron, the 28 Squadron raised in Chandigarh, was nicknamed ‘First Supersonics’ as India’s first supersonic fighter.
“MiG-21 has served in the Indian Air Force for almost six decades now. Since it is stopping its operational flying, I think it is the right time to at least cover the history of MiG-21. The MiG-21, the MiG part is an acronym for Mikoyan and Gurevich, which was a designer and producer of this aircraft. MiG-21 in the Indian Air Force came in the year 1963. The first 28 Squadron was raised in Chandigarh of MiG-21. The MiG-21 being the first supersonic aircraft, the squadron was called the First Supersonics,” Singh said.
The jet also played a decisive role in multiple wars. In the 1971 war, MiG-21s struck the Governor’s residence in Dhaka, leading to Pakistan’s surrender. The aircraft has shot down multiple generations of enemy fighters–from F-104s in 1971 to the F-16 in 2019–making it one of the most battle-tested jets in IAF history.
“Thereafter, MiG-21 was operationally deployed and involved in the 1965 operations. It had its fair share of operational history in 1965. Thereafter came the 1971 war, wherein the MiG-21 was totally operationally deployed in all the squadrons. And the most important one of all is the attack on the Governor’s residence in Dhaka, at that time East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, on 14th December 1971. On 15th December, the governor resigned. On 16th December, Pakistan surrendered. We had 93,000 prisoners of war, and all because of one turning point, which this aircraft delivered,” he added.
Singh, who has flown the MiG-21 himself, emphasised the personal and institutional connection pilots have had with the jet. “Almost every pilot in the Indian Air Force, not just recently but over the decades, has flown the MiG-21 before moving on to other aircraft. We are going to miss them,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, to honour the MiG’s legacy, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh flew a sortie in the iconic aircraft to commemorate its legacy and decades of operational service.
The IAF is likely to replace the MiG-21 with the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark 1A. Known as the “backbone of the IAF”, the MiG-21’s nearly 60-year service has been pivotal in shaping India’s air power. The Air Force is preparing to phase out the MiG-21 fighter jet on September 26. (ANI).
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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