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The Indian Air Force is all set to retire its soviet-era MIG-21 squadron, of which wingman Abhinandan Varthaman was a part when he shot down Pakistan’s F-16 combat aircraft a day after the Balakot airstrike in February 2019.
The force will be retiring its ageing fleet, which is currently based in Srinagar city of norther Jammu and Kashmir, on September 30, according to reports.
The No. 51 Squadron, called the ‘Sword Arms’, is one of its four remaining squadrons of ageing MiG-21 fighter jets.
The remaining three squadrons of MiG-21 will be phased out by 2025, PTI news agency reported quoting defence sources.
The decision to retire the ageing fleet is part of the IAF’s move to phase out the MIG-21 by 2025.
In July, PTI reported that the IAF had drawn up a three-year timeline to phase out the remaining four MIG-21 fighter squadrons as part of a ‘modernisation drive’.
For several years, the Soviet-era Russian fighter has been making the headlines due to multiple crashes causing the death of pilots.
Since 1970, over 170 Indian pilots and 40 civilians have been killed in MiG-21 accidents. Since 2010, more than 20 aircraft have crashed and 38 aircraft crashed in the decade after 2003, according to data released by the Defence Ministry.
Nearly 300 accidents have been reported since 1963. Due to its high rate of accidents, the fighter aircraft has earned the moniker “Flying Coffin”
However, defence officials said that MiG21s are being retired not solely based on their ageing factor.
“Ageing is a factor, but we read reports that even a modern aircraft can crash. A crash can happen due to multiple factors, including weather,” the source was quoted as saying.
The 2019 Balakot strike was launched in response to the Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 troops of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), one of India’s paramilitary forces.
The IAF fighter jets had bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in the Pakistan-occupied territory of the Balakot region.
Varthaman, who is now the Group Captain, shot down a Pakistani F16 in a dog fight after the Pakistan Air Force launched retaliation to the Balakot air strike.
The former The then Wing Commander Varthaman’s fighter jet was hit but he managed to eject and was in Pakistani captivity as he landed across the Line of Control. He was later awarded the Vir Chakra.(WION)
