Inducted in the early 60s, India’s first supersonic fighter and interceptor aircraft, the Air Force’s MiG-21, will fly one last time, sailing into the sunset on Friday after years of service to the nation. The last of the jets from the MiG-21 squadron will be given a farewell at a grand event in Chandigarh, the very base where the MiG-21 was first inducted.
The first MiG-21 Squadron was led by Dilbagh Singh, who became the IAF chief in 1981. The jets were dominant during India’s 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, and also played a pivotal role in the 1999 Kargil war and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes.
“Six decades of service, countless tales of courage, a warhorse that carried pride of a nation into the skies,” the IAF recently said in a post on MiG-21 retiring.
Flypast and decommissioning: Inside MiG-21’s farewell
The final batch of MiG-21 aircraft from squadron number 23, known as the “Panthers,” will retire at the decommissioning ceremony in Chandigarh on Friday, September 26. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the event as chief guest.
Apart from him, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will also be in attendance.
The send-off of the Russian-origin MiG-21 would include a ceremonial flypast and decommissioning event, and the jets part of the flypast will be given a water cannon salute upon landing. Among the pilots scheduled to fly is Squadron Leader Priya Sharma, who earlier participated in the full dress rehearsal. She will become the last woman fighter pilot ever to fly a MiG-21. The Jaguar and the Tejas aircrafts will also be part of the ceremony.
Priya Sharma was reportedly commissioned as a Flying Officer after she received her graduation certificate from then Army Chief Bipin Rawat.
All about the iconic MiG-21 jets
After its induction over six decades ago, the MiG-21 served as the backbone of the Indian Air Force, with more than 870 such jets reportedly inducted since its arrival.
While it played a key role in India’s aerial dominance: in the 1965 and 1971 wars, the 1999 Kargil war, and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, it was also involved in numerous crashes over the years, triggering safety concerns.
Their final operational missions recently took place from Nal Air Force Station in Rajasthan’s Bikaner. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh flew solo sorties of the MiG-21 on August 18-19.
