“The MiG-21 fleet has been grounded till the investigations are carried out and reasons for the crash are ascertained,” senior defense officials told ANI.
Only three MiG-21 squadrons are operating in the IAF, and all of them will be phased out by the initial months of 2025.
The MiG-21 jet fighter was a continuation of Soviet jet fighters, starting with the subsonic MiG-15 and MiG-17, and the supersonic MiG-19. Several experimental Mach 2 Soviet designs were based on nose intakes with either swept-back wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-7, or tailed deltas, of which the MiG-21 would be the most successful.
