'Warhorse that carried pride of a nation': MiG-21 fighter jets to retire with final flight on September 26

MiG-21 Fighter Jets to Take Their Last Flight on September 26

The legendary Russian-origin MiG-21 fighter jets, which have been the backbone of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for over six decades, are set to be officially retired on September 26 at a decommissioning ceremony in Chandigarh, the very city where the aircraft was first inducted in 1963.

The ceremony will feature a ceremonial flypast, a water cannon salute, and participation from IAF pilots, including Squadron Leader Priya Sharma. Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, the IAF chief, is scheduled to fly the last sortie of the 23rd Squadron, nicknamed “Panthers,” with the call sign ‘Badal 3’.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and six former IAF chiefs, A Y Tipnis, S Krishnaswamy, S P Tyagi, P V Naik, B S Dhanoa, and R K S Bhadauria, will attend the historic event. ]

Officials from the Defence Ministry, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will also be present.

The program will include a display by the IAF’s skydiving team "Akash Ganga," followed by a MiG-21 flypast featuring precision drills in three-aircraft 'Badal' and four-aircraft 'Panther' formations. Modern fighters, including the Jaguar and the Tejas, along with the Surya Kiran aerobatic team, will also participate.

The MiG-21, first inducted in 1963, became the IAF’s workhorse, with over 870 jets procured over the years. The supersonic aircraft played key roles in the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the 1999 Kargil conflict, and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes.

The IAF described the MiG-21 as a “warhorse that carried the pride of a nation into the skies,” hailing its “six decades of service” and countless stories of courage.

Over the years, safety concerns emerged due to multiple crashes involving the ageing fleet. The formal retirement follows the aircraft’s last operational sorties at Nal Air Force Station in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in August, during which Air Chief Marshal A P Singh conducted solo flights.

A commemorative postal stamp will mark the historic occasion. Full-dress rehearsals were held at Chandigarh Air Force Station ahead of Friday’s ceremony. Squadron Leader Priya Sharma will be remembered as the last woman pilot to fly the MiG-21 in its farewell sortie.

Reflecting on the aircraft’s legacy, the IAF said on social media: “Six decades of service, countless tales of courage, a warhorse that carried pride of a nation into the skies.”

The MiG-21 was first put into service by Wing Commander Dilbagh Singh, later Air Chief Marshal, in Chandigarh in 1963. More than sixty years later, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh will bring the iconic aircraft’s journey full circle with its final flight from the same city.

The retirement of the MiG-21 marks the end of a remarkable chapter in India’s aviation history, closing the book on one of the IAF’s most enduring and celebrated fighter jets.