The death of two officers in a crash, the most recent in a string of casualties related to the single-engine jet’s failure, has prompted India to ground all of its Soviet-era Russian fighter jets, the MiG-21, by 2025, according to a newspaper on Saturday.
Unnamed Indian Air Force officials were quoted by The Times of India as saying that although the MiG-21s are well past their retirement age, they must be replaced before being grounded.
What aspect of India’s fighter-jet capability would be impacted? was not made clear in the report. According to the Wion news source, the air force has about 70 MiG-21s. In recent years, the air force and the ministry of defence have purchased aircraft from Western manufacturers.
A senior defence ministry official told Reuters only that discussions on the future of the MiG-21 were underway as obtaining spare parts from Russia was becoming more challenging due to the conflict in Ukraine but declined to confirm or deny the Times of India report.
An inquiry for comment from a spokesman for the defence ministry did not receive a prompt response.
The MiG-21, also known as “flying coffins” by the Indian media, has been the main fighter jet for the nation since its introduction in 1963, but crashes have plagued it in more recent years.
In India’s military infrastructure, the jets have been a crucial security asset that have been used, for instance, to attack Pakistan after an alleged suicide attack in the occupied Kashmir region in 2019.
According to official data and a source, the crash of an air force MiG-21 Bison on Thursday in the desert state of Rajasthan brings the total number of MiG-21 crashes since last year to six, with five officers killed.
A.K. Antony, who was the defence minister at the time, reported to parliament in 2012 that more than half of India’s 872 MiG-21 aircraft had been destroyed in crashes over the preceding 40 years.
