Active Indian military aircraft
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Saturday, February 22, 2020
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: Balalaika, because its planform resembles the stringed musical instruments of the same name; Ołówek, Polish for "pencil", due to the shape of its fuselage, and; Én bạc, meaning "Silver Swallow", in Vietnamese.
| MiG-21 | |
|---|---|
| Romanian MiG-21 Lancer-C in flight | |
| Role | Fighter and interceptor aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Design group | Mikoyan-Gurevich |
| First flight | 14 February 1956 (Ye-2) |
| Introduction | 1959 (MiG-21F) |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | Soviet Air Forces (historical) Indian Air Force Croatian Air Force Romanian Air Force Serbian Air Force |
| Produced | 1959 (MiG-21F) – 1985 (MiG-21bis) |
| Number built | 11,496 (10,645 produced in the USSR, 657 in India, 194 in Czechoslovakia) |
| Unit cost | MiG-21FL (Indian version): $ 2 million (1974) |
| Variants | Chengdu J-7 |
Approximately 60 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations six decades after its maiden flight. It made aviation records, became the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history, the most-produced combat aircraft since the korean war and previously the longest production run of a combat aircraft (now exceeded by both the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon). It's also one of the earliest examples of planes capable of performing the Cobra maneuver.
