Overview

• At a Chandigarh ceremony on September 26, the Indian Air Force bid farewell to the MiG-21, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attending and Air Chief Marshal A P Singh flying the final solo sortie.
• Roughly 28 MiG-21 Bison jets from No. 23 Panthers and No. 3 Cobras were retired and ferried to NAL Airbase for inspection and disposition.
• The IAF will reclaim usable parts, convert selected airframes into supersonic target drones for training, and allocate others to museums and educational institutions under its application process.
• The two squadrons are being number-plated to preserve their heritage, and No. 3 Squadron is slated to begin receiving LCA Mk1A fighters.
• The retirement marks the end of a type that served in the 1965 and 1971 wars, Kargil in 1999, and Balakot in 2019, closing a long combat chapter for the service.