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IAF to Bid Farewell to MiG-21 Fleet on September 19

Tejas production setbacks will leave IAF combat squadrons at a decades-long low

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(File) An Indian Air Force MIG-21 passes near Sukhoi-30 fighter jets. AFP
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Overview

  • The IAF’s final MiG-21 Bison squadrons of No. 23 Squadron (Panthers) at Nal Air Force Station will be decommissioned in a ceremony at Chandigarh airbase on September 19, 2025.
  • Its retirement will cut the IAF’s fighter squadrons from 31 to 29, the lowest since the 1960s and falling short of its sanctioned strength of 42.
  • The phase-out has been repeatedly postponed because of production and delivery setbacks for the indigenous Tejas Mk1A, of which 180 jets are on order and first deliveries are slated for early 2026.
  • Over its six-decade service, the MiG-21 endured more than 400 crashes that claimed nearly 260 lives, earning it the grim nickname “flying coffin.”
  • Introduced in 1963, the supersonic jet flew in every major IAF conflict from the 1965 and 1971 wars through the 2019 Balakot strikes and Operation Sindoor.