IAF to Retire One More MiG-21 Squadron by September-end, Entire Fleet by 2025

A day after two pilots died in a crash involving MiG-21 fighter aircraft, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will reportedly retire one more squadron of the MiG-21 Bison aircraft by September 30.

“The 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base is being number plated on September 30. After this, only three squadrons of the planes would be left in service and would be phased out by the year 2025,” news agency ANI quoted its sources in the IAF as saying.

The IAF has been replacing the MiG-21 fighter jets with more capable aircraft like the Su-30 and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). In the past 20 months, 6 MiG-21s have been lost in crashes in which five pilots have lost their lives, according to ANI.

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan’s Barmer district on Thursday night, leading to the death of both the pilots. Barmer District Collector Lok Bandu told PTI that the IAF plane crashed near Bhimda village in Baytoo.

The IAF, in a tweet, said the twin-seater MiG-21 trainer aircraft was airborne for a training sortie from Utarlai air base in Rajasthan this evening. At around 9:10 pm, the aircraft met with an accident near Barmer. Both pilots sustained fatal injuries.

The IAF said it deeply regretted the loss of lives and stood firmly with the bereaved families. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari following the crash. The IAF chief briefed Singh on the incident in detail.

Singh also mourned the death of the two pilots and extended condolences to the bereaved families. “Deeply anguished by the loss of two Air Warriors due to an accident of IAF’s Mig-21 trainer aircraft near Barmer in Rajasthan. Their service to the nation will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness,” the defence minister tweeted.

The crash once again brings the spotlight on the IAF’s ageing fleet of Soviet-origin Mig-21 aircraft, which were involved in as many as 200 accidents since their first induction in the early 1960s.

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