THE CHEQUERED JOURNEY OF THE MIG-21 IN THE IAF

The much-maligned MiG-21s have served the nation and the Indian Air Force well and the longest - as long as seventy years. Historically, no other fighter has lasted that long. They have been the backbone of the IAF. They deserve to retire gracefully, argues SP SINGH

- SP SINGH

In the last week of May 1999, while India faced the unprecedented challenge of protecting its sovereignty against the intrusion by Pakistan in its Kargil sector, to break the back of intruders and smear them into rubbles, a stream of silver-shining, ferocious-looking fighters zoomed into the sky, laden with 1000lbs bombs and in minutes were flying over the treacherous peaks at height of 15-18000feet.

Quickly sighting the enemy, these machines, piloted by the finest pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF), unleashed the thunder of 1000 lbs bombs on the intruder’s bunkers at those heights that were firing at our soldiers of the Indian Army. These attacks brought cheers to Indian Army battalions that were facing tough challenges in countering heavy fire from these high-peak occupied posts by the enemy.

These saviours from the sky, no less than angels for Indian forces, were none other than MiG-21s. Soon the might of other fighter fleets like Mirage-2000, Jaguars, MiG-27s and many more rained various types of weapons from the sky while Indian Army units valiantly moved up to destroy the enemy posts and evict the intruders in a short swift operation.

This should be kept in mind about MiG-21s and their reliability, especially in the wake of recent unfortunate air crashes.

Historical Background