MiG-21 set to soar again as part of IAF’s heritage fleet

The Indian Air Force’s iconic MiG-21 fighter jet, phased out in September, is set to be ‘revived’ as part of the IAF’s “Heritage Flight” programme.

The IAF’s heritage wing flies retired aircraft at commemorative events and air shows to showcase the evolution of Indian military aviation and honour its legacy.

The current inventory includes three World War II-era aircraft — the British-origin de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth, and the American-made T-6G Harvard and Douglas C-47 Dakota.

The MiG-21 will soon join this fleet. A set of aircraft currently stationed at Nashik are being assessed for inclusion. The main challenge lies in maintaining the planes and engines and sourcing spare parts. Since the MiG-21 was licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with engines made and overhauled domestically, an inventory of parts already exists. The IAF, with its decades of experience, also maintains a detailed schedule for replacing sub-units.

It is not yet clear how many MiG-21s will be retained in the heritage fleet. After 62 years of service, the aircraft was officially decommissioned on September 26, 2025, at a ceremony held at the Air Force Station in Chandigarh — the same city where it was first inducted in 1963.

The IAF’s heritage wing, initially called the “Vintage Aircraft Flight”, was set up in April 1988 at Air Force Station, Palam, but was suspended the following year. It was revived in 2012 and later renamed the “Heritage Flight”.

Over its long service life, the MiG-21 and its variants were part of several major operations — including the 1971 Bangladesh War, the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Balakot airstrike. Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was flying a MiG-21 during the aerial engagement.

Separately, the IAF has received numerous requests from educational institutions, war memorials and military museums for airframes of the retired jets to be put on display. The IAF follows a multi-step process for such allocations — providing airframes without engines, avionics, or weapons. Private institutions are required to pay up to Rs 30 lakh for each airframe, while transfers to government museums or war memorials are free of cost.

The process of retiring and repurposing airframes begins once an aircraft reaches the end of its operational life due to age or obsolescence. As MiG-21s have been phased out in batches over the years, several have already been allotted for static display across the country.