44-year-old MiG-21s older than cars: IAF chief BS Dhanoa

NEW DELHI: India still uses 44-year-old MiG-21s though no one drives a car that old, Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa has said. Addressing a seminar on IAF’s modernisation and indigenisation plans in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday, Dhanoa said the non-upgraded Russian origin MiG-21 fighter jets would be phased out by December. He also said a fifth generation aircraft could not wait till a war began.

Dhanoa said that high-end obsolete weapons were being replaced with indigenous ones. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, he said: “The MiG-21 MF has completed 44 years and it will be phased out by December. Hopefully, I will fly the last sortie in September subject to visibility.” On the MiG’s service, he added: “The obsolescence management done by HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and the BRD (Base Repair Depot) is praiseworthy. Over 95% components required in overhauling are being made in India only. The Russians are not flying MiG but we are flying them because we have overhaul facilities.”

MiG-21 entered service in the IAF in the early 1970s. A MiG-21 Bison, an upgraded version, flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down a Pakistani F-16 that attempted to target Indian military installations in J&K on February 27, a day after the Balakot strikes.


Speaking at the seminar, Singh said that there was need to reduce dependence on foreign manufacturers and indigenously develop capabilities. “Indian Air Force is a technologically advanced and extremely potent force. The recent offensive strike against terrorist outfits in our neighbourhood speaks volumes about the reach and lethality of this formidable arm of the armed forces,” Singh said. He urged the private industry to take advantage of government policy initiatives and engage with the defence services, defence PSUs and ordnance factory board for meeting indigenisation demands.

Dhanoa said the process of using indigenously developed weapons had started. “We can’t wait for indigenous technology to replace obsolete warfighting equipment. Neither will it be prudent to import every defence equipment from abroad. What we’re doing is replacing our high-end obsolete weapons with indigenously developed ones.”