India ‘mulls grounding MiG-21 jets’ after crash
INDIA will ground all its Sovietera Russian fighter jets, the MiG21, by 2025, following the death of two officers in a crash, the latest in a series of casualties involving the single-engine jet’s failure, a newspaper reported last Saturday (30).
The Times of India quoted unnamed Indian Air Force officials as saying the MiG-21s have long past their retirement but must be replaced before being grounded.
The report did not specify what portion of India’s fighter-jet capability would be affected. The Wion news outlet said the Indian Air Force (IAF) has around 70
MiG-21s. The IAF and defence ministry have been buying aircraft from Western makers in recent years. A senior defence ministry official declined to confirm or deny the Times of India report, telling Reuters only that discussions on the future of the MiG-21 were underway, as sourcing of spare parts from Russia was increasingly difficult due to the war in Ukraine.
A defence ministry spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The MiG-21, dubbed “flying coffins” by the Indian press, has been the country’s key fighter jet since its introduction in 1963 but has been plagued by crashes in later years. The jets have been a critical security asset in India’s military infrastructure, used for example to strike Pakistan after an alleged suicide attack in Kashmir in 2019.
Last Thursday’s (28) crash of an air force MiG-21 Bison in the desert state of Rajasthan brings to six the number of MiG-21 crashes since last year, with five officers killed, according to official data and a source.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) said the training aircraft “met with an accident” and said an investigation was ordered to determine the cause of the crash.
“IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families,” the air force tweeted. Local media footage showed flaming wreckage spread over a large area.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply anguished” by the loss of the two pilots in the crash. “Their service to the nation will never be forgotten,” Singh said on Twitter.
In 2012, then-defence minister AK Antony told parliament that more than half of India’s 872 MiG21s had been lost to crashes over the previous four decades. MiG-21 jets entered Indian service in the 1960s and served as the backbone of the country’s air force.