MiG-21 'a bird for all seasons', says Rajnath as IAF bids adieu

Group Captain Suresh Ratnaparkhi struggled to hold back tears as he sat in his wheelchair and stretched his hand out to touch a MiG-21 Bison that had just landed after its last operational sortie at the Chandigarh airbase where the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday decommissioned the last of its iconic Soviet-era fighter jets in a rousing sendoff that evoked the aircraft's heady decades in service and how it shaped the country's air power.

- Rahul Singh

"She was my beloved and I touched her for the last time," the 87-year-old former MiG-21 pilot said as India’s longest-serving fighter jet retired after flying the Indian flag for 62 years.

Just moments earlier, Ratnaparkhi listened with rapt attention as defence minister Rajnath Singh described the MiG-21 as the cornerstone of India’s air power for decades, hailed it for acquitting itself honourably in different wars and conflicts, and recounted how the IAF's first supersonic fighter jet excelled in every role assigned to it.

Astronaut Group Captain Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and MiG-21 pilot Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman were in the audience too, along with chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan and the three service chiefs. Chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Squadron Leader Priya Sharma were among the six fighter pilots who flew the last MiG-21 sorties.

"In every historic mission, the MiG-21 carried the Tricolour with honour. Its contribution has never been limited to a single event or battle, it has been a pillar of India’s air power for decades," the defence minister said.

Ratnaparkhi, who travelled to Chandigarh from Goa for the decommissioning ceremony, couldn't agree more.