Air Force Chief announces drawdown of MiG 21s; How its a big step for the Indian Air Force

After assuming post of Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari held his first press conference on Tuesday ahead of IAF's 89th anniversary. Addressing press brief, IAF chief discussed an array of topics ranging from present situation at LAC, to possible threats posed by Taliban in Afghanistan and retirement of India's longest-serving fighter plane- MiG 21.

"We have four squadrons of MiG-21s and drawdown will happen in next three to four years," he stated, adding that India would meet its requirements for 5th Generation fighter aircraft through  AMCA- an indigeus aircraft developed by DRDO. 

decision to retire India's oldest fighter plane has followed a series of tragic events and more than 400 accidents in last 6 decades. supersonic MiG-21s were used for training pilots between 1980s to early 2000s and served as a bridge between subsonic trainers and supersonic fighters before induction of British-origin Hawks in 2008. However, MiG-21s were plagued with safety problems and have accounted for lives of 170 Indian pilots since 1970. 

Owing to number of accidents that it has been in,  aircraft has been dubbed as 'flying coffin' and 'widow maker'. tably, Soviet Air Force, ie Russia which built aircraft doesn't use it anymore. Several or countries such as America and Vietnam, which possessed fighter plane have retired it long back. 

Even as countries phased out MiG-21s, India continued to upgrade its techlogy, latest version- Bison aircraft. More than 100 MiG-21s have been upgraded to Bison, and several of se have been instrumental in cross-border strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot. In a table chapter in history of aircraft, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 using a Bison in 2019 despite former's numerical and techlogical superiority. At present, India possesses four squadrons of MiG-21 Bison aircraft — each with 16 to 18 fighter jets. 

Next step for IAF

On Tuesday, IAF chief confirmed drawdown of MiG 21s. To replace ing aircraft, IAF w plans to induct different variants of Tejas LCA in coming years for which Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been awarded a Rs 48,000-crore contract. 

"We are on verge of getting 6 Light Utility Helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)," VR Chaudhari said. Moreover,  induction of Rafale and Apaches have significantly added to India's combat potential. "Our offensive strike capability has become even more potent with integration of new weapons on our fleets," he added.

Additionally, India is planning to procure 114 Fighter Aircraft under its 'Make In India' project.  project under Make In India initiative includes top contenders such as Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen. Efforts are also being made to work on indigeus Anti-drone capability. "We are giving benefit to startups to design and develop counter UAS system for Air Force," IAF chief stated.