[V.Narayan]

Ode to the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21

IAF Day Flypast in October 2023, at Prayagraj, to be MiG-21’s last


https://m.economictimes.com/news/def.../104136418.cms
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...346206301.html

The IAF has announced that the venerable MiG-21 will be retired in 2025 being replaced by the Tejas. The MiG-21 will participate in a public flypast one last time on 8th October 2023 at the 120 aircraft flypast to be held over Prayagraj.

Hopefully HAL can ramp up its production of Tejas quick enough. 2025 when it finally retires will mark 60 years in IAF service for this remarkable aircraft. Kudos to not just the pilots but more so to the engineers and ground crew who kept the machines flying.

The youngest MiG-21 in our inventory is around 35 years old at least. The only aircraft in a major Air Force of similar vintage, still in active service, that I can think of are – Boeing B-52, Tupolev Tu-16 Badger, Lockheed C-130, Tupolev Tu-95/142 Bear and the flying forever Antonov An-2 biplane. But of them all the MiG-21 is the only one which is a fast combat aircraft commonly called a fighter.

The essay below is meant to be a light reading dedicated to this most classic of fighters. I have not gone into technical details, design characteristics etc which would require a significant investment of time and effort.


The MiG-21 story...

The MiG-21 entered service in 1965 on a trial basis and from 1966 more substantially. It formed the backbone of our fighter fleet from circa 1970 to the mid-2000s till the growing number of Su-30MKIs started making themselves felt. It was license built in India from 1966 toc.1988.

As a design it remains a classic being the smallest airframe wrapped around a very powerful engine and fitted to 57 degree sweep back delta wings in turn
married to tail wings. This gave rise to the classic design of the tailed delta. For speed, acceleration you need a delta wing. But in a tight turn it loses lift rapidly and needs dangerously high speeds while landing. The tail wings partially help solve for these. Most planes have tail wings so what's the big deal one may ask. But aerodynamics makes designing the right tail for a thin sharply swept back Mach 2.0 delta wing planform a challenge which the French could not solve with the Mirage III and the Americans with their Delta Dagger series, both contemporaries.

A leading Western test pilot who had flown the MiG-21 and other Western aircraft was once asked to compare the MiG-21, Dassault Mirage III and the English Electric Lightning. He dismissed the Lightning outright as pedestrian in anything but climb. The Mirage III he said was comparable and better for peacetime due to superior cockpit ergonomics that could imply fewer accidents in peace times. But in war he said he would bet on only the MiG-21 given its manoeuverability, climb rate, small cross section all of which would give a well-trained pilot the edge in combat. Given how dismissive Western media is /was of Soviet aircraft, due to ignorance and prejudice, this was a compliment to beat all compliments. {reference: Red Star Rising by Doug Richardson, Hamlyn Publications, 1988}

Mig-21FL

The MiG-21FL was the first of four major variants to serve with the IAF. Here I am not including a handful of an earlier type that came in 1965. India's insistence led to the 23mm twin gun pack being added on the centreline to provide the pilot with a back up after he had fired both his heat seeking missiles. Powered by the 6175 kgf Tumanskii R-11 after burning turbojet this machine was a hotrod. In the hands of the North Vietnamese in the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s they played havoc with American fighters thanks to their manoeuverability and climb rates.


The MiG-21FL shone in the 1971 Indo-Pak war of Bangladesh's liberation. It was primarily responsible for putting the Dhaka airfield out of action with pin point bombing. Its most important mission was the rocket attack against the Governor's mansion in Dhaka while the East Pakistan leadership was holding a meeting there. The attack spooked them enough to eventually surrender.


By the time the hostilities came to an end, the IAF MiG-21FLs had claimed four PAF F-104A Starfighters, two PAF Shenyang F-6s {Chinese built MiG-19}, one PAF North American F-86 Sabre and one PAF Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.

MiG-21 U

The two-seat conversion trainer. Like many Russian machines built with limited interest in ergonomics. As you can see the rear seated instructor had no forward vision! A periscope was added to aid him. Not the best way to teach a pupil pilot how to land the fastest landing fighter in service. Landing speed ~250 kmph.

MiG-21M

The MiG-21M was an upgraded fighter-bomber version of the earlier MiG-21FL described earlier. The externally mounted gunpack was integrated within the fuselage it could carry 4 air-to-air missiles instead of two and the internal fuel capacity was increased. Structure wise this was based on an entirely new airframe design. The Tumanskii R-11 engine continued which gave a slightly lower power loading due to the higher all up weight of the MiG-21M. This led this variant to move to ground attack roles in the 1980s onwards.

Pictured above is the very first MiG-21M assembled in India in February 1973.

MiG-21bis

The third variant to fly with us was the last Soviet designed MiG-21 named MiG-21bis. In Russian that roughly translates to MiG-21 Plus. It was designed to be a fighter bomber. Powered by the much more powerful 7100 kgf Tumanskii R-25. This outstanding rugged engine could in emergencies develop an astounding 9900 kgf for 120 seconds to give a pilot a decisive power edge in combat.

MiG-21 Bison

The final variant to serve with the IAF, and still flying, is the Indo-Russian upgrade, MiG-21Bison. This machine includes upgraded electronics, better navigation & and communication systems, the Russian Kopyo light weight multi-mode radar that can track 8 targets and attack 2 simultaneously, beyond visual range {BVR} air-to-air missiles, a helmet-mounted display & sights cued to the Russian R-73 heat seeking missiles, a redesigned HOTAS cockpit {Hands on Throttle and Stick} giving the pilot all key controls to fly and fight on his finger tips, a new electronic counter measures suite and a better windshield, among other improvements. Its crowning moment came when {then} Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down a Pakistani F-16 in 2019.

Length: 48 feet 3 inches excluding pitot boom
Wingspan: 23 feet 6 inches Wing area: 250 sq feet
Max takeoff weight: 9,800 kg
Powerplant: 1 × Tumanskii R-25-300 afterburning turbojet, 7100 kgf

Maximum speed (clean configuration): 2,175 km/h / Mach2.05 at 43,000 ft
1,300 km/h / M1.06 at sea level
Combat radius: ~350kms hi-hi-hi with two heat seeking air-to-air missiles and 800 litre drop-tank
Service ceiling: 57,400 feet
Initial climb rate at sea level: 45,000 feet per minute (225 metres per second)
Take-off run: 830 m (2,720 ft)

Guns: 1 × internal 23 mm twin GSh-23L autocannon with 200 rounds
Hardpoints: 5 (4 underwing + 1 ventral, reserved for fuel drop tanks), with provisions to carry combinations of:
4 × S-24 heavy air-to-ground rockets or 4× 57mm rocket pods or 4 heat seeking air-to-air missiles of various makes
or 2 × 500kg + 2 × 250kg bombs

This marvelous fighter is the most produced supersonic jet fighter ever with about 11,500 produced in USSR, China and India. It is also today the longest serving supersonic jet fighter in frontline inventory of a major Air Force - a testimony to the engineers of the IAF and our own botched decision making on selection of replacements and eternal delays with the Tejas. For about 35 years from the 1970s to the 2000s the MiG-21 remained the backbone of our Air Force. Its image in the public eye got tarnished due to the numerous crashes. The crashes IMHO were a function of inadequate training for rookie pilots given that for 30 years we did not have a proper advanced jet trainer and were using second grade spares purchased from East European countries to save costs.

Very soon the MiG-21 will fly off into history after having served our nation like no other aircraft.

Jai Hind.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[BoneCollector]

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful and informative thread about MiG-21s.

Today will be last ever flypast by MiG-21of Indian Air Force at Bamrauli Airbase at Prayagraj. Link to live telecast

My closest encounter with a MiG-21 was at a park in Patna (The Official non-auto Image thread).

[Jeroen]

Thanks for sharing. Great plane.

The one good thing about being produced in large numbers is it will to carry on its heritage in many museums around the world.

In addition, there are some airworthy 8-10 MIG 21 in private ownership. Several in the USA.

Several MIG 21s for sale: https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search...-type=aircraft

Jeroen

[fhdowntheline]

Sad to see the plane fly into the sunset. I hope IAF and the Government will give it a place of pride in various museums etc, because it has been the front line fighter for the better part of 4 decades. I think there should be a pair of Tejas fighters escorting the last operational flight of the Mig21 when it happens as a symbolic gesture.
I also vividly remember reading the Red Star Rising book by Doug Richardson at a public library in the USA. Its a pity we do not have such educational infrastructure anymore in out country. The book is prohibitively expensive to order on Amazon.

[PaddleShifter]

Another excellent article sir. Thank you for writing this and sharing with all of us.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Mig-21FL

The MiG-21FL was the first of four major variants to serve with the IAF.

For a moment, I read FL as facelift and started looking for differences with the pre-facelift model.

Below is the screen grab from Wikipedia explaining the meaning of FL (in case there is another person like me who read FL as facelift). These were manufactured in India by HUL, starting 1966 as “type-77”.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Ode to the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21

Happy to see you back in action Mr Narayan! Where had you been? We were worried about your absence from the forum! Thank you for another lovely thread!

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

2025 when it finally retires will mark 60 years in IAF service for this remarkable aircraft.

The MiG-21 story...

The MiG-21 entered service in 1965 on a trial basis and from 1966 more substantially.

Sorry to nitpick but the plane entered IAF service in 1963. Its 60th anniversary in IAF has already been celebrated this year.

The first batch comprising four planes was delivered to India in CKD form in February, 1963 and the first squadron (No. 28 Squadron, nicknamed the "First Supersonics") was raised on 23 March, 1963 at Chandigarh. The original plan was to procure two squadrons to match PAF's purchase of two squadrons of F-104 but the plan was revised to reduce the initial lot to the bare minimum necessary for familiarizing the type to IAF pilots with focus mainly being on setting up the Indian production facilities at Nasik (for airframe), Koraput (for engines) and Hyderabad (for radar and missiles).

Here are a few links for reference:

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/D...20new%20T%2D76


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._28_Squadron_IAF


https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...r-force-484919

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

This marvelous fighter is the most produced supersonic jet fighter ever with about 11,500 produced in USSR, China and India. It is also today the longest serving supersonic jet fighter in frontline inventory of a major Air Force - a testimony to the engineers of the IAF and our own botched decision making on selection of replacements and eternal delays with the Tejas. For about 35 years from the 1970s to the 2000s the MiG-21 remained the backbone of our Air Force.

India alone inducted over 800 MiG 21s over the course of 60 years. With respect to the plane's license production in India and China, there is an important difference. While China came out with derivatives like F7 and F8, India was happy just assembling the plane from Soviet kits. We never bothered to make our own improvements to the design. It is obvious that China took self-reliance more seriously than India although self-reliance was our declared goal even in early 1960s and the key reason behind India choosing the plane in 1962 was the Soviet willingness to help India produce the plane locally.

Here's a great article about the Indo-Soviet MiG deal and its international repercussions. It was published in the journal Asian Survey in 1964:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3023476

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by directinjection

India alone inducted over 800 MiG 21s over the course of 60 years. With respect to the plane's license production in India and China, there is an important difference. While China came out with derivatives like F7 and F8, India was happy just assembling the plane from Soviet kits. We never bothered to make our own improvements to the design. It is obvious that China took self-reliance more seriously than India although self-reliance was our declared goal even in early 1960s and the key reason behind India choosing the plane in 1962 was the Soviet willingness to help India produce the plane locally.

Just wondering, does it have something to do with IP rights in the two countries? The contracts likely had clauses that prevented both parties from churning out unlicensed copies but unlike China, the Soviets could possibly actually enforce these in Indian courts. Because as far as I've read, we actually got a more comprehensive tech transfer than the Chinese did.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Sorry to nitpick but the plane entered IAF service in 1963. Its 60th anniversary in IAF has already been celebrated this year.

The first batch comprising four planes was delivered to India in CKD form in February, 1963 and the first squadron (No. 28 Squadron, nicknamed the "First Supersonics") was raised on 23 March, 1963 at Chandigarh.

Thank you for the correction. My mistake. Hazards of putting a thread together from memory and not cross checking facts carefully enough.

India alone inducted over 800 MiG 21s over the course of 60 years. With respect to the plane's license production in India and China, there is an important difference. While China came out with derivatives like F7 and F8, India was happy just assembling the plane from Soviet kits. We never bothered to make our own improvements to the design. It is obvious that China took self-reliance more seriously than India although self-reliance was our declared goal even in early 1960s and the key reason behind India choosing the plane in 1962 was the Soviet willingness to help India produce the plane locally.

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Just wondering, does it have something to do with IP rights in the two countries? The contracts likely had clauses that prevented both parties from churning out unlicensed copies but unlike China, the Soviets could possibly actually enforce these in Indian courts. Because as far as I've read, we actually got a more comprehensive tech transfer than the Chinese did.

In our case it was a proper long term contract covering license assembly, some part manufacture from raw materials, and supply of associated ground support equipment, repair tools, and most importantly the armaments. The Soviets used to enforce these contracts with a vengeance refusing to permit us to even locally forge/make simple parts which we could easily do. Their tool was to withdraw the performance guarantee amongst others. Given our very deep dependance on them for not only the MiG-21 but a plethora of weapons across the 3 services we did not cross the line. The Chinese on the other hand were given the drawings just before the Sino-Soviet rift. They then used those drawings to work backwards and manufacture from scratch. It took them time, but they got there. No doubt their national policy of self-reliance was and still is miles ahead of ours and they go about it step by step.

Whether the MiG-21 or Su-30MKI or Sepecat Jaguar what we do is assembly and some real part manufacture. It is never a total 101% transfer of technology regardless of political posturing over the ages. Thanks to Soviets the IAF at least had a qualitative edge over PLA AF and PAF over the 1965 to 1990 period.

[theabstractmind]

Being based out of Bangalore and with fighter jets flying over our area and around school frequently in the 90s, I have always been fascinated with these flying machines. However, recollect seeing more of MiG 27s, Mirage 2000s and Jaguars during those days. Very few sightings of the Mig 21. The Delta wings and the round nose was unmistakable. Having served its fair share but taking more lives than warranted, I think it's for good that they are now completely retired.

Off topic: Is anyone aware whether Mig 27s are still being used for testing or serviced by HAL? I see quite a many Jets flying over and what look like the Mig 27s. The long fuselage, thin wide spread out wings, and seriously fast flying, I can't recollect of any other fighter with that design and flight. Officially they are retired.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

Off topic: Is anyone aware whether Mig 27s are still being used for testing or serviced by HAL? I see quite a many Jets flying over and what look like the Mig 27s. The long fuselage, thin wide spread out wings, and seriously fast flying, I can't recollect of any other fighter with that design and flight. Officially they are retired.

OT:

Could be Jaguar? Image taken from here:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-be...wed-from-above

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

Off topic: Is anyone aware whether Mig 27s are still being used for testing or serviced by HAL? I see quite a many Jets flying over and what look like the Mig 27s. The long fuselage, thin wide spread out wings, and seriously fast flying, I can't recollect of any other fighter with that design and flight. Officially they are retired.

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

OT:

Could be Jaguar? Image taken from here:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-be...wed-from-above

A Jaguar most probably; twin seat Jaguar even more likely as it looks longer. It's quite common to get confused between MiG 23BN/MiG 27 and Jaguar!

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

OT:

Could be Jaguar? Image taken from here:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-be...wed-from-above

Originally Posted by directinjection

A Jaguar most probably; twin seat Jaguar even more likely as it looks longer. It's quite common to get confused between MiG 23BN/MiG 27 and Jaguar!

Thank you for the responses. But no! They are not Jaguars. I would recognize a Jaguar in my sleep - I had photos of it pasted in my study all over :-).

Jaguar's tail looks like a Shark Fin; it is much slower in acceleration / flight visually, and has a larger frame, and makes a hell lot of noise, has a visually shorter wing span. Conversely, Mig 23 / Mig 27 has those wide wings which are thin, the frame / fuselage looks thinner, and they look visually very fast during take off and flight. And yeah, Jaguars of IAF are painted in a darker shade while the Migs had a lighter shade of paint to my best recollection. The ones I still see around look very much like the Mig shown in the image posted by sandeepmdas. I was just curious as I have been seeing them pretty long time!

On a side note: I still run to the balcony to catch a glimpse of these machines despite being in my forties .

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Ode to the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21

A magnetic thread as always from you sir! Keeps me hooked always. The Mig-21 has forever been a favourite plane for me & surely I feel sad to see it nearing its end of life. I sincerely hope a sizeable number is maintained airworthy for ceremonial purposes & as many as possible of them are donated and maintained as static displays all over the country. Nothing like an iconic fighter jet in its glory, to instill pride in the people right from young age. MBTs come a close second . Its a significant piece of IAF's great history & has earned its place in the legends.
A true marvel of low-cost technical innovations for the era & a versatile airframe that simply refused to give-in to time. A plane that finally brought a true sense of technical superiority for the IAF in the region, that had often played catch up. Kudos to the Fishbed & its remarkable pilots!

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

OT:

Could be Jaguar? Image taken from here:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-be...wed-from-above

Hard to mistake a Jag with the Bahadur. Jaguar has much narrower wingspan compared to the Mig-27, in relation to the fuselage.

And of course the Jaguar is a twin-engine plane with a louder jet note at high-speed. If one has a visual of the two - its hard to confuse between them. At higher speeds the Mig-27s wings would swing inwards, while spreading out at lower speeds.

And OT, the guy who made that externally sourced image has made some amusing mistakes, like pointing to wrong place for exhausts, considering nose sensor pitot as refueling inlet etc .

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

I would recognize a Jaguar in my sleep - I had photos of it pasted in my study all over.

Same here!

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

Conversely, Mig 23 / Mig 27 has those wide wings which are thin, the frame / fuselage looks thinner, and they look visually very fast during take off and flight. And yeah, Jaguars of IAF are painted in a darker shade while the Migs had a lighter shade of paint to my best recollection. The ones I still see around look very much like the Mig shown in the image posted by sandeepmdas. I was just curious as I have been seeing them pretty long time!

I think all the combat fleet is now painted in 1 IAF standard shade. There are no longer differences that used to be.

I wonder if HAL is servicing some living examples of Mig-23/27 for other air-forces (SriLanka had Mig27, not sure whether they still have them or retired after some were destroyed in ground).

As a remote possibility - can it be the BAe/HAL HAWK 132? Proportions are not too far off the Mig-27 while of course its a much smaller plane overall. From a far-distance, it might give that vibe maybe. HAL manufactures / services them & a large chunk is based at Bidar nearby. For a spotter like you of course the chances of confusing between these 2 are slim. But if you are regularly seeing them in good numbers, Hawk is the nearest plane of those proportions in our inventory with a single engine, single tail-fin, non-delta wings of that ratio that would be visiting HAL regularly. But then the wings are mounted low as opposed to the higher set wings of the 27.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Ode to the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21

Sir,

Great thread and a wonderful read, as always. Thank you for compiling it.

Apart from the Type 88 MiG-21M (which was license built by HAL), the IAF had also imported around 35 MiG-21MFs from the Soviet Union(Tail nos. C1474-C1509).These Type 96 MiG-21MFs were externally similar to the MiG-21MF, the only differentiating factor being that the MiG-21MFs wee powered by the more powerful Tumansky R-13 engine, while the MIG-21Ms being built by HAL were powered by the Tumansky R-11 engine - the same engine that was powering the Type 77 MiG-21FLs. The R-11 engine was being license, manufactured by HAL's engine division in Koraput already for the Type 77 MiG-21FLs and that is probably the reason why the R-11 powered Type 88 MiG-21M was chosen for license manufacture in India.

*I remember senior bhpian PGA sir stating in one of the threads that later in their career, these MiG-21MFs were re-engined with the M/FL's R-11 engine

The MiG-21MFs were initially operated by two IAF squadrons - No. 7 "Battle Axes" & No. 108 "Hawkeyes" and the specialty of these MiG-21MFs in IAF service was that they had the instrumentation and capability to fire the Kh-66 Grom /AS-7 Kerry air to ground guided missile (something I believe the HAL built MiG-21Ms lacked). The Battle Axes had this lovely livery on their MiG-21MFs that proudly displayed their sqdn crest and motto of "शत्रुंजय" (Shatrunjay- Vanquish the Enemy) on their MiG-21s.




While No. 7 Sqdn later traded their MiG-21MFs for MiG-21Ms, before eventually becoming a Mirage 2000 sqdn, No. 108 Sqdn continued to operate the MiG-21M/MF till they were numberplated in 2017.



The MiG-21 variants were also given local names in IAF service
Type 77 MiG-21FL Trishul
Type 88/96 MIG-21M/MF Badal
Type 75 MiG-21bis Vikram

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Sad to see the plane fly into the sunset. I hope IAF and the Government will give it a place of pride in various museums etc

+1 to that. The only one I have seen up close is an HAL built Type 88 MiG-21M C1624 at Sunnyside - General Thimayya Museum in Madikeri, Coorg


I wish more such airframes get donated by the IAF to each and every city and town in the country.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

And OT, the guy who made that externally sourced image has made some amusing mistakes, like pointing to wrong place for exhausts, considering nose sensor pitot as refueling inlet etc .

The refueling probe was laughable to say the least. I don't know how can someone mistake pitot tubes for IFR probes

The only Flogger variant that had an In-flight refueling probe installed was the MiG-23BK/BN Flogger-H flown by the Iraqi Air Force. No other MiG-23 or MiG-27 variant had an IFR probe.