‘MiG-21 Was A Robust Jet, Those Who Called It Flying Coffin Had Never Flown It’
Air Commodore Mrigendra Singh VSM (Veteran) says MiG-21 was a reliable fighter jet that served as the pillar of India’s air power for decades. His views:
To briefly know one of the gems in the crown of the Indian Air Force, Type 77 of the MiG-21 belonged to the first generation of fighter planes. The initial batch that was delivered in 1963 was an Air to Air version. With the passage of time and technology transfer by the erstwhile USSR, HAL further modified it as per our requirements, upgrading it to Type 96, Type 75 (bis) and Type 75 (Bison) with various Air to Air and Air to Ground armament.
Here, I must put on record that while the initial MiG-21s inducted in the 1960s and 70s were retired long ago; the aircraft in service until now were at most 40 years old, a lifespan considered normal for fighter jets worldwide. These were also continuously upgraded with advanced radars, avionics and weapon systems.
With my ten years of flying association with MiG-21, what I could sum up in one line is that it was the most reliable, ferocious and easy to maintain jet that I have ever flown. It was also one of the blue eyed boys of the technical staff due to its ease of repair and maintenance and it also had one of the Lowest Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). MiG-21 was truly the darling of all fighter pilots. It would not be exaggeration to call it our life.
I do not know who gave names like the flying coffins to this wonderful flying mchine and why. I certainly do not agree with that – it could well have been given by people who had never understood this aircraft well and the business of fighter flying itself. Let us put it logically and with statistics – if 80 per cent of a fleet consists of a particular model out of which 10 meet with an accident, will the figures not appear to be higher?
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I do not know about others, but I was part of the squadron with MiG-21 (I have flown two variants, namely MiG-21 T 77 and MiG-21 T 75 (Bis). I commanded No 4 Squadron on MIG-21 T 75 (Bis) and I never heard a bad word from any of my team members and pilots with whom I flew the machine for a decade. It was a beautiful aircraft, easy to handle and manoeuvre and the experience of handling it was unbelievable.
If we look at its records, the MiG-21 proved its mettle in multiple theatres of war and conflict – from its decisive role in the 1971 war, where it attacked the Governor’s House in Dhaka under hostile conditions and hastened India’s victory, to its presence in the Kargil conflict, the Balakot airstrike, and Operation Sindoor. 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 MiG-21 retired last week after 62 years of service. The first set of IAF pilots flew it before I was born, and since, a legion of our pilots, past and present, including yours truly, cut our combat teeth on this aeroplane at a young age of 20-21 years.
From the first sortie, when it literally flew out of my hand to the day when it could be used as a virtuoso paint brush in the sky, it has had an overarching presence in our lives. We hugged it in pleasure, we embraced it in times of pain or ethereal achievement. We laughed with it, we cried with it, we swooped down from 39000 feet, we raised dust trail from 20 feet in the Thar and Kutch, we navigated the Himalayan valleys at 100 feet and zoomed momentarily above the snow covered peaks, had salt sprays from sea waves, and through it all it stayed with us maintaining its twinkling yet sagely expression, a mix of ‘do what you want’ and ‘I told you so, but I got ya’ expression.
That surly yet fond Big Brother has being laid to rest to by the country after its four wars participation and multiple medals of bravery and honour, to the bugle sounds of the Last Post, an Auld Lang Syne and a final fly past. But can it just go?
Never! Because, it is us!!
As told to Rajat Rai
