New Delhi: Few combat aircraft globally can match a service life as prolonged – and improbable – as the MiG-21's 62 years in the Indian Air Force (IAF), whose final two squadrons of around 30-odd platforms are being retired at a formal ceremony in Chandigarh on September 19.

This extraordinary longevity was underpinned almost entirely by jugaad, the Indian military’s inimitable culture of improvisation, ingenuity, and engineering fixes that kept these single-engine fighters flying far beyond expectations and well outside their original flight envelope and mission parameters.

Through a mix of technical improvisation and squadron-level ingenuity that included integration of improved radars, indigenously developed and off-the-shelf avionics and modern missile systems, the IAF's numerous MiG-21 (NATO designation: ’Fishbed’) variants evolved operationally far beyond their original Soviet design.

Few supersonic jets of any era have operated such a broad mission spectrum

And, over time, entire IAF base-level ecosystems grew around supporting these fighters, doing more with less to transform the MiG-21s into multi-role workhorses capable of flying reconnaissance, ground-attack, interception, precision-strike missions and air policing roles, all acknowledged admiringly by fighter pilots from around the world.

Few supersonic jets of any era, let alone those from the 1960s, have operated such a broad mission spectrum, with MiG-21 fighters serving effectively in the 1965, 1971, and 1999 wars with Pakistan, in the Balakot strikes of 2019, and more recently in Operation Sindoor.

Beginning with the first Mikoyan-Gurevich-designed MiG-21F-13/Type 74 in 1963, some 870 variants of the fighter entered IAF service thereafter, the majority licence-produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. MiG-21 inductions continued until the mid-1980s, with this fighter type eventually comprising nearly 60% of the IAF’s combat fleet till the 1990s.

The MiG-21s performance envelope was notable for its era: a top speed of Mach 2.1, operational ceiling of over 50,000 feet, and a rapid climb rate. But its range and payload were modest, and its early variants had rudimentary avionics, limited visibility, and posed challenging handling at low speeds. Veterans said the fighter was primarily a ‘pilot's aircraft’ – unforgiving of error and with minimal tolerance for laxity.

Over the decades, some 450 MiG-21s had crashed, killing between 170 and 200 pilots – as well as several civilians on the ground –  according to official statistics, earning the fighter ignominious labels in the Indian media such as ‘flying coffins’ and ‘widow makers’.

Multiple investigations had revealed that, apart from pilot error, many of these crashes had stemmed largely from ageing airframes, engine failures, and the relentless demands placed on a platform long past its technological prime.

But eventually it was compulsion, not choice, that kept the IAF flying MiG-21s despite mounting mishaps – mainly to sustain squadron numbers. Although proposals to phase them out began surfacing as early as 2019, persistent delays in developing indigenous fighters and slow procurement of replacements left the IAF with little option but to continue with MiG-21s to fill critical operational gaps by extended their total technical life (TTL) and take on roles far beyond their original design intent.

Chronic delay in indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme

One key reason behind the MiG-21’s extended service was the chronic delay in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, launched in 1983 specifically to replace it. As a stopgap, the IAF upgraded 125 MiG-21 ‘Bis’ fighters to ‘Bison’ standard in the late 1990s, incorporating a mix of Indian, Russian, French, and Israeli radar, avionics and assorted other related systems onto the fighter.

These upgraded MiG-21 Bisons are the ones finally being retired in September, and their exit will reduce the IAF’s fighter fleet to just 29 squadrons, well below the sanctioned strength of 42.5, underscoring the mounting strain on its operational efficiency.

And though the fighters’ original Tumansky R-25 engines were not replaced, they were modified with enhanced accessory drives and ancillary systems to support the heavier, electronics-laden platform. Its avionics too saw a significant boost with the integration of the lightweight Russian ‘Super Kopyo’ multi-mode radar and the Totem 221G ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system from France’s Sextant Avionique. These were linked to a locally developed navigation and attack computer, with weapon delivery cues displayed to the pilot via a modern Head-Up Display (HUD).

The upgrade also included EWS-21 radar warning receivers from Thales, Israeli countermeasure dispensers, onboard video recording systems, and indigenous electronic countermeasures (ECM). The MiG-21 Bison was also capable of deploying a much wider range of ordnance, including Russian R-73 and R-77 air-to-air missiles with ranges of 40 to 100 km, Kh-31 medium-range air-to-surface missiles, and the GSh-23 twin-barrel 23mm cannon.

Meanwhile, Wing Cdr Amit Giri, a veteran MIG-21 pilot, declared that though designed as a short-range interceptor, the IAF had ‘upped the game by using the MiG-21 in almost every role imaginable’.

Writing in the Financial Express in late 2021, he stated that these missions had included bombing, interception, reconnaissance, providing escort to bombers over enemy territory and also training rookie pilots.

He said MiG-21s had even comprised part of large force engagements (LFEs), executed to deceive the enemy and conceal the real intent regarding intended targets, thereby forcing the opposing side to deploy a large defending package to its operational disadvantage.

IAF’s skills in operationalising technical and operational ‘jugaad’

“Let alone Western air forces, even the Russians could never have imagined the role of a MiG-21 in LFE,” Wing Cdr Giri said in a silent tribute to the IAF’s skills in operationalising technical and operational ‘jugaad’ and optimising its war-fighting skills.

However, he conceded that the IAF’s continued reliance on the MiG-21 was driven more by necessity than by tactical preference. With a “humongous amount of sky to protect,” a trickle of fighter acquisitions from abroad, and delays in indigenous development, the IAF had little choice but to shape its strategy and tactics around platforms like the MiG-21. In short, the Soviet fighter remained an analogue survivor in a digital age, but one that had stayed too long.

And, as the MiG-21 takes its final bow in Chandigarh in a few weeks, its farewell won’t just signal the retirement of a Cold War relic, but the departure of a fighter that, over decades, became thoroughly Indian in spirit. Its 62-year service owes less to Soviet engineering and more to the power of desi jugaad – the Indian military’s unsung force multiplier.

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