The MiG-21, which is still operated by several countries, was created in the 1950s as a lightweight interceptor, designed to climb fast to reach the enemy over short distances. It quickly became the workhorse of the Indian fleet: around 900 aircraft passed through the IAF, most of them made in India under Soviet licence. The early version, celebrated for shooting down Pakistani planes in the 1971 war over Bangladesh, was used for air-to-air combat within visual range. A later version, the MiG-21 Bison, equipped with a better radar, could strike at longer distances.

In 2021, on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh, India’s then president presented his counterpart with a replica of the MiG-21, reflecting the esteem in which it was held. But the adulation always sat alongside unease. The jet’s wing design, narrow tyres and turbojet engine generated maximum power only at high airspeeds. This meant that flying too slowly on landing could be deadly. Over 400 Indian MiG-21s crashed over 60 years, killing 200 pilots and 60 civilians, resulting in a grim moniker from the Indian press: the flying coffin. The latest crash was in 2023, when an accident killed three villagers.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5770170&forum_id=2Vannesa#49239335)

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(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5770170&forum_id=2Vannesa#49239345)

most of them made in India under Soviet licence

most of them made in India under Soviet licence

most of them made in India under Soviet licence

most of them made in India under Soviet licence

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5770170&forum_id=2Vannesa#49239364)