• By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
  • Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:58 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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MiG-21 Farewell: After 63 years of service, the MiG-21s were decommissioned by the Indian Air Force in a ceremony at the Chandigarh Air Force Station on Friday, which was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, besides former IAF chiefs S P Tyagi and B S Dhanoa. IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was also present.

In a post on X, Rajnath Singh had written, "Today, 26th September, I shall be in Chandigarh. Shall attend the Decommissioning ceremony of IAF's MiG-21. Looking forward to it."

Speaking to ANI, Group Captain Malik, a former Air Force pilot who flew the MiG-21 during his service with the IAF, said, "I have flown all three versions of MiG-21s for almost 24 years... It was my life, and now it is going to be a part of my life. It's a mixed feeling... Each moment is emotional when we are bidding farewell to this aircraft, and I swear there is nothing better than this aircraft…”

The Russian-made aircraft were first inducted into the IAF in 1963 and had been part of the Air Force fleet in all the Indo-Pak wars (1971 and 1999). The final batch of aircraft featured in the decommissioning ceremony was nicknamed “Panther”.

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MiG-21s parked at Chandigarh Airbase for decommissioning ceremony (Source: PTI)

The Decommission Ceremony 

The last sortie of the aircraft was led by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, with call sign ‘Badal 3’. The Indian Air Force marked the occasion with a grand spectacle, beginning with a dramatic skydiving display by its elite team, 'Akash Ganga', who leapt from an altitude of 8,000 feet. 

This was followed by a majestic flypast of MiG-21 aircraft, accompanied by the precision of the Air Warrior Drill Team and an aerial salute. The fighter jets flew in the classical three-aircraft Badal formation while the four-aircraft Panther formation flew over the clear blue sky for one final time.  

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Besides, the MiG-21 formations, the Surya Kiran aerobatics in the Hawk-132 trainer jets captivated the audience with a series of daring and graceful aerial manoeuvres, adding to the emotional farewell.

Earlier, the IAF had written in a post on X, "Six decades of service, countless tales of courage, a warhorse that carried pride of a nation into the skies."

The MiG-21 fighter jets had long served as the mainstay of the IAF. Over the years, the Indian Air Force had added over 800 MiG-21s to their fleet. 

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The deteriorating condition of these Soviet-era jets, coupled with their involvement in numerous accidents, has consistently raised concerns about flight safety and highlighted the necessity for fleet modernisation, a key factor behind the decommissioning of MiG-21 for improved aircraft. The Tejas LCA Mk1A has been chosen as the replacement for the MiG-21 fighter jets.

With inputs from PTI