According to Indian Asian International News Agency (ANI), American Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), the Indian Air Force will hold a farewell ceremony on September 26 to the MiG-21, marking the end of the aircraft's history since its entry into the list in 1963, serving in the Indian Air Force for more than sixty years.

ANI posted an article on social media to pay tribute to the MiG-21 fighter aircraft. It has been that the MiG-21 fighter aircraft may be replaced by India's "glorious" MK-1A fighter aircraft. The Indian Air Force has signed contracts for the purchase of 83 "glorious" MK-1A aircraft.

Image of Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft (data map)

The Indian Army has accumulated 900 MiG-21s, of which 660 are manufactured locally by Indostan Airlines Ltd. In August, Indian Air Force Chief of Staff Singh said that while the MiG-21s had provided excellent service to the Indian forces, it was time for India to abandon the aircraft.

Indian New Delhi TV said that the Indian Air Force currently has only 36 MiG-21 fighter jets in stock, belonging to the 3rd "Glass Serpent" squadron and the 23rd "Black Panther" squadron, respectively.

In July 2022, the IAF identified a three-year plan to phase out MiG-21 squadrons still in service. The plan also includes phasing out MiG-29 fighter jets by 2027. (Chen Jia)

Extended reading

Planning to buy 114 more "Arsenal", Indian officials: performed excellent, defeated Chinese missiles

India-Pakistan conflict into Chinese weapons "goldstone", J-10C first war cut off the "wind", so that the buyer of this legal warplanes committed a mourning.

According to media such as Today India on September 13, the Ministry of Defense of India has received the Air Force's proposal for the new purchase of 114 French "Armor" fighter jets made in India, involving two trillion Indian rupees (about $22.6 billion).

According to Indian Defense Officials, the Indian Air Force¡¯s proposal for the purchase of the 114 Armor Fighter Jets (i.e. the ¡°Situation Declaration¡±) has been submitted to the Defense Ministry a few days ago and is currently being reviewed by the departments under the Defense Ministry.

The fighter aircraft will be jointly manufactured in India by French Dassault Airways jointly with Indian Airways, with a share of more than 60% of the domestic components.Dassault Airways has established a company in India responsible for the maintenance of the French-made fighter aircraft.Tata and other Indian airlines are also expected to participate in the fighter aircraft production.

The French side also plans to establish maintenance, repair and major repair facilities in Hyderabad, India, for the M-88 engines used by the Armageddon fighter aircraft.

Once completed, the project will become the largest defense deal ever signed by the Indian government, with the total number of Indian Army Army Army aircraft increasing to 176 aircraft.The Indian Air Force has already deployed 36 aircraft, and the Indian Navy has ordered another 26 Army Army M aircraft carriers through an intergovernmental agreement.

Indian officials pointed out that one of the reasons for promoting this purchase was the excellent performance of Rafale fighter jets in Operation Cinnabar. Indian media said that the fighter jet "successfully and comprehensively suppressed China's PL-15E air-to-air missiles" with its advanced "Spectrum" electronic warfare system.

Image of Indian Air Force "Wind" fighter aircraft (data map)

In addition, India's domestically made "Rafale" fighter is expected to be equipped with domestically produced air-to-surface missiles, whose range will exceed that of "Scarp" (also known as "Storm Shadow") missiles previously used to attack Pakistan.

The IAF believes that this deal is crucial to strengthening the fleet. In addition to the "Rafale" in the future, the main fighters of the Indian Air Force will also include the Su-30MKI, 180 LCA Mark 1As that have been ordered, and domestically produced fifth-generation fighters planned to be installed after 2035.

Pakistan has previously announced that in the Indian-Pakistan air struggle on May 7, the country's air force used the J-10C to shoot down five Indian fighter jets, including three "Armor".

France 24 television said that Chinese weapons passed real-world war tests in the Indo-Pakistan conflict and performed far beyond expectation, which sounded the alarm clock for those who have long disregarded Chinese weapons.

Carlotta Reno, an expert on China at the Verona International Security Research Group, said that on the cognitive level, China has won a great victory. The enlightenment brought to us by this conflict is that Chinese weapons are not inferior to western equipment, and we should abandon the long-standing prejudice.

The Pakistani army showed and compared online aircraft debris and comparative images of the Indian army's "wind" to emphasize the credibility of the defeat.

Reuters also quoted two U.S. officials as saying they were confident that a J-10 fighter successfully shot down at least two Indian military aircraft, including the Armor.

Even US President Trump said in July that "four or five fighter planes may be shot down" during the India-Pakistan conflict this year. Analysts believe that Trump's remarks indirectly confirm the Pakistani statement.

Despite the widespread belief that there were losses, the Indian side has always failed to respond positively. Indian Air Force Air Operations Director Barty did not disclose specific models and numbers when responding to the loss of the aircraft, merely justifying that "the loss is part of the battle."

Even three months after the conflict broke out, the Indian side promoted the "great victory". Indian Air Force Chief of Staff Amar Preet Singh suddenly announced on August 6 that India had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during the fighting in May.

Singh also said India¡¯s S-400 air defense system shot down most of Pakistan¡¯s aircraft.

"We confirm that at least five fighter jets and one large aircraft were shot down," he said, adding that the large aircraft, possibly a reconnaissance plane, was shot down 300 kilometers from the border.

A number of Indian media quoted him as saying, "This is actually the largest surface-to-air shooting down recorded so far. Our air defense system has performed very well."

Apart from India, no other sources have supported the claim.