MIG - 21 Bison Flying coffins or widow maker ?

Despite Poor Track Record, Why MiG-21 Is Used as a Fighter Jet

Background 

The MiG-21 jet fighter was a continuation of Soviet jet fighters, starting with the subsonic MiG-15 and MiG-17, and the supersonic MiG-19. A number of experimental Mach 2 Soviet designs were based on nose intakes with either swept-back wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-7, or tailed deltas, of which the MiG-21 would be the most successful.

Development of what would become the MiG-21 began in the early 1950s when Mikoyan OKB finished a preliminary design study for a prototype designated Ye-1 in 1954. This project was very quickly reworked when it was determined that the planned engine was underpowered; the redesign led to the second prototype, the Ye-2. Both these and other early prototypes featured swept wings.

India is the largest operator of MiG-21s. In 1961, the Indian Air Force (IAF) opted to purchase the MiG-21 over several other Western competitors. As part of the deal, the Soviet Union offered India full transfer of technology and rights for local assembly. In 1964, the MiG-21 became the first supersonic fighter jet to enter service with the IAF. Due to limited induction numbers and lack of pilot training, the IAF MiG-21 played a limited role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Now

MiG-21 Bison aircraft crashes in Rajasthan's Barmer, pilot safe; Indian Air Force initiates inquiry  

A MiG-21 Bison fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer on Wednesday. This is the fourth incident involving a MiG-21 Bison aircraft this year.

The Indian Air Force MiG-21 aircraft is often in the limelight for the wrong reasons of accidents or crashes, the latest being the crash in Punjab’s Moga where pilot Abhinav Choudhary died on Thursday, 20 May.

This is the third crash in 2021 involving a MiG-21:

On 20 May, Abhinav Choudhary died in a clash in Moga.

On 17 March, a MiG-21 Bison crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior where Group Captain Ashish Gupta died.

On 5 January, due to technical issues, a Mig-21 aircraft crashed in Rajasthan, but no one died in the incident.

IAF’s overwhelming dependence

Experts say that more MiG-21s have crashed than any other fighter because they formed the bulk of the fighter aircraft in the IAF’s inventory for a long time. IAF had to keep its MiG-21 fleet flying longer than it would have liked because of delay in the induction of new fighters.

“Was there a choice? You have to have a certain number of fighter planes to guard your skies. The induction of multi-role fighters was delayed, only 36 Rafales came instead of the projected requirement of 126 jets, the light combat aircraft (LCA) programme is behind schedule and fighters such as Sukhoi-30 have had serviceability issues. IAF had to make do with its MiG-21 fleet,” said Air Vice Marshal Sunil Nanodkar (retired), a former assistant chief of air staff.