(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / NEW DELHI, India - August 9, 2011:
MiG-21 fighter aircrafts, which have been in news for frequent crashes, will be phased out of the Indian Air Force by 2017 and replaced by modern fighter aircraft such as Su-30MKI and indigenous LCA.“The MiG 21s will get phased out by 2015-16. I think the last of the squadrons of the aircraft will be phased out by 2017,” Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju told reporters here.
Over the years, the IAF has inducted a total of 946 MiG-21s in its fleet and 476 of them have been lost in various accidents over the past 45 years.
In a recent report, the Ministry acknowledged that most of these accidents had occurred due to old technology.
The Minister said the MiG-21s “constitute the majority of our squadrons and they will gradually be replaced by the Light Combat Aircraft (LCAs) and the Su-30MKI.”
Mr. Raju said after the phasing out of the “MiG 21s from operational service, the IAF will have the LCA, SU-30MKI, Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft and the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), which is being developed with Russia.”
On 126 M-MRCA, Mr. Raju said a decision on the mega deal would be taken by the end of this year.
He said at present the technical offsets are being evaluated after which the commercial bids will be opened and on their basis, the government will take a final decision about the contract.
The IAF is looking to procure 126 M-MRCA jets for which Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon have been shortlisted.
The competition also involved four others including the Russian MiG 35, Swedish Saab Gripen and the American Boeing F/A-18 E/F and the Lockheed martin F-16 combat jets.
The production of the MiG-21bis under license by Hindustan Aeronautics of India lasted until 1984. Despite a series of crashes during the 1990s, which led to the aircraft acquiring the nickname "flying coffin", the Indian Air Force has decided to upgrade about 128 of the MiG-21bis in its inventory to the MiG-21 Bison standard. These will serve the Indian Air Force until 2015.
The production of the MiG-21bis under license by Hindustan Aeronautics of India lasted until 1984. Despite a series of crashes during the 1990s, which led to the aircraft acquiring the nickname "flying coffin", the Indian Air Force has decided to upgrade about 128 of the MiG-21bis in its inventory to the MiG-21 Bison standard. These will serve the Indian Air Force until 2015.
Chinese copies of the MiG-21 are designated Chengdu J-7 and F-7 (for export).
Russia now offers an upgrade pack for the MiG-21 up to MiG-21-93 standard. This includes an avionics suite upgrade including the installation of the Kopyo pulse doppler radar used by the MiG-29, enabling the aircraft to fire a greater range of modern weapons such as the beyond visual range Vympel R-77 air-to-air missile. The upgraded avionics also enhance the aircraft's survivability as well as its ability to engage enemy fighters. Other upgrades include the installation of a dual screen HUD, helmet-mounted target designator, and advanced flight control systems.
Israeli Aircraft Industries manufactures an upgrade package for the MiG-21 called the MiG-21-2000.
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