The sun is finally setting on the MiG-21, the Indian Air Force’s first supersonic jet fighter that has served for more than six decades. As the aircraft prepares for its final flight on September 19 at the Chandigarh airbase, one of its earliest pilots recalls how the jet once saved his life when four Pakistani fighters chased him during a war.
Air Marshal (retd) Prithvi Singh Brar had just dropped two 500kg bombs on Pakistan’s Rafiqul air base in 1971 and was heading back when four US-made F-86 Sabres appeared on his tail. “The odds weren’t good,” he told TOI with a chuckle from his Chandigarh home. “I thought I was seconds away from death.” Years of training and instinct took over. Fighting crushing g-forces, he pushed his jet to its limits, stretching every rivet and bolt. “The Pak jets dropped out. They couldn’t keep up,” he said, pride still clear after 54 years. His MiG-21 brought him home.
For Brar, who later rose to become Vice-Chief of Air Staff, the MiG-21 was more than a machine. “I love the MiG-21, it never let us down in operations,” he told TOI. “When you fly an aircraft, you fly because you love it. It’s like a sport.” Now 86, he first flew the jet over Chandigarh in 1966 and flew it for the last time in 2000, just two days before his retirement.
Introduced in India in 1963, the MiG-21 was assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after being designed by Soviet manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich. More than 1,200 were produced for the IAF. The aircraft served in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, the 1999 Kargil War, and in 2019, when a MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down a Pakistani F-16, a claim Pakistan disputes.
Brar was among the first batch of Indian pilots trained on the MiG-21 in 1966, initially under 45 Squadron, which had trained in Russia. “It was a supersonic delta-wing aircraft, which used to land at speeds of 330 kmph,” he told TOI. After training, his group joined No.1 Squadron in Adampur with new aircraft and adapted it to Indian conditions. “We became a group of people who knew how to make the most of it.”
At Adampur, pilots practised bombing and rocketing missions. Brar recalled an incident when a fellow pilot suffered an engine failure but still landed safely — a testament to the aircraft’s design. A Tactics and Combat Development Squadron was set up there in 1970 to refine techniques.
In 1971, as war loomed, training intensified. “It was the first time a single-engine, single-pilot aircraft was used for night flying,” Brar told TOI. Pilots flew sorties from Hindon to Amritsar for nearly six months before the conflict. When war began in December, the MiG-21 became a decisive factor. “It was because of our training and the reliability and speed of MiG-21 that we could bomb several airbases of Pakistan. We surprised everybody with the MiG-21,” he said.
Brar also spent time in Iraq on a special assignment, training Iraqi pilots on the jet.
The MiG-21’s long service has been shadowed by its reputation. Over 200 IAF pilots lost their lives in crashes of different variants, leading to grim nicknames such as “Flying Coffin” and “Widow Maker.” Brar rejected these labels. “The term ‘flying coffin’ was coined by the media — to convey the grief of a pilot’s mother or wife — while covering an unfortunate incident. It was never how we, the pilots, saw the aircraft,” he told TOI. He insisted the IAF’s accident rate has never been worse than that of the US or European air forces.
At its peak, the IAF operated 400 MiG-21s across 19 squadrons. Variants such as the MiG-21FL, MiG-21M/MF and MiG-21bis served for decades, with more than 100 later upgraded to the “Bison” standard. Between 2017 and 2024, at least four squadrons were phased out. Originally set for retirement in 2022, the timeline was extended due to delays in inducting the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Now, the IAF will replace the MiG-21 with the Tejas Mk1A and the Tejas Mk2, ensuring continuity with a new generation of indigenous fighters.
Brar said its retirement is overdue. “An aircraft is made of certain material, which has a life. So, the aircraft was overdue for replacement,” he told TOI, adding that the Jaguar too should be phased out. Yet for him, the bond with the MiG-21 remains deeply personal. “We learned to explore its best. It never let us down,” he said.
(With inputs from TOI)
MiG-21 vs 4 Pakistani F-86 fighter jets
Air Marshal (retd) Prithvi Singh Brar had just dropped two 500kg bombs on Pakistan’s Rafiqul air base in 1971 and was heading back when four US-made F-86 Sabres appeared on his tail. “The odds weren’t good,” he told TOI with a chuckle from his Chandigarh home. “I thought I was seconds away from death.” Years of training and instinct took over. Fighting crushing g-forces, he pushed his jet to its limits, stretching every rivet and bolt. “The Pak jets dropped out. They couldn’t keep up,” he said, pride still clear after 54 years. His MiG-21 brought him home.
The fighter that shaped generations
For Brar, who later rose to become Vice-Chief of Air Staff, the MiG-21 was more than a machine. “I love the MiG-21, it never let us down in operations,” he told TOI. “When you fly an aircraft, you fly because you love it. It’s like a sport.” Now 86, he first flew the jet over Chandigarh in 1966 and flew it for the last time in 2000, just two days before his retirement.
Introduced in India in 1963, the MiG-21 was assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after being designed by Soviet manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich. More than 1,200 were produced for the IAF. The aircraft served in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, the 1999 Kargil War, and in 2019, when a MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down a Pakistani F-16, a claim Pakistan disputes.
MiG-21: Training and adaptation
Brar was among the first batch of Indian pilots trained on the MiG-21 in 1966, initially under 45 Squadron, which had trained in Russia. “It was a supersonic delta-wing aircraft, which used to land at speeds of 330 kmph,” he told TOI. After training, his group joined No.1 Squadron in Adampur with new aircraft and adapted it to Indian conditions. “We became a group of people who knew how to make the most of it.”
At Adampur, pilots practised bombing and rocketing missions. Brar recalled an incident when a fellow pilot suffered an engine failure but still landed safely — a testament to the aircraft’s design. A Tactics and Combat Development Squadron was set up there in 1970 to refine techniques.
Preparing for war
In 1971, as war loomed, training intensified. “It was the first time a single-engine, single-pilot aircraft was used for night flying,” Brar told TOI. Pilots flew sorties from Hindon to Amritsar for nearly six months before the conflict. When war began in December, the MiG-21 became a decisive factor. “It was because of our training and the reliability and speed of MiG-21 that we could bomb several airbases of Pakistan. We surprised everybody with the MiG-21,” he said.
Brar also spent time in Iraq on a special assignment, training Iraqi pilots on the jet.
Flying Coffin
The MiG-21’s long service has been shadowed by its reputation. Over 200 IAF pilots lost their lives in crashes of different variants, leading to grim nicknames such as “Flying Coffin” and “Widow Maker.” Brar rejected these labels. “The term ‘flying coffin’ was coined by the media — to convey the grief of a pilot’s mother or wife — while covering an unfortunate incident. It was never how we, the pilots, saw the aircraft,” he told TOI. He insisted the IAF’s accident rate has never been worse than that of the US or European air forces.
The future of MiG-21
At its peak, the IAF operated 400 MiG-21s across 19 squadrons. Variants such as the MiG-21FL, MiG-21M/MF and MiG-21bis served for decades, with more than 100 later upgraded to the “Bison” standard. Between 2017 and 2024, at least four squadrons were phased out. Originally set for retirement in 2022, the timeline was extended due to delays in inducting the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Now, the IAF will replace the MiG-21 with the Tejas Mk1A and the Tejas Mk2, ensuring continuity with a new generation of indigenous fighters.
Brar said its retirement is overdue. “An aircraft is made of certain material, which has a life. So, the aircraft was overdue for replacement,” he told TOI, adding that the Jaguar too should be phased out. Yet for him, the bond with the MiG-21 remains deeply personal. “We learned to explore its best. It never let us down,” he said.
(With inputs from TOI)
