Overview

• The IAF will formally retire its last MiG-21 jets on September 19 at Chandigarh Airbase in a ceremony hosted by No. 23 Squadron (Panthers).
• The phase-out will reduce India’s active combat squadrons to 29, the lowest count since the 1960s.
• Repeated delays in the indigenous Tejas Mk1A programme forced multiple extensions of the MiG-21’s operational life.
• To fill the coming capability gap, the IAF has ordered 180 Tejas Mk1A fighters with initial deliveries slated for early 2026.
• Introduced in 1963 as India’s first supersonic interceptor, the Soviet-designed MiG-21 flew in every major conflict but its more than 400 crashes earned it the ‘flying coffin’ nickname.