India ends Russian MiG-21 fighter era after six decades and deploys Tejas for frontline ops.

The Indian Air Force held a culmination ceremony at Air Force Station Chandigarh on Sept. 26, 2025, to mark the final flights of its MiG-21 fleet. The farewell, featuring a last sortie by the Air Chief and Tejas flypasts, signals a shift to newer and networked fighters.

According to information published by the Indian Air Force on X on September 26, 2025, the service staged a MiG-21 culmination ceremony at Air Force Station Chandigarh to mark the final flights of India’s first supersonic fighter. The sendoff featured a last sortie by the Chief of Air Staff, a water-cannon salute on recovery, and formation flypasts that paired the retiring Fishbed with its indigenous successor, the LCA Tejas. The moment closed a 62-year chapter that began when the MiG-21 entered IAF service in 1963 and grew to define India’s Cold War and post–Cold War airpower. It was both a tribute and a transfer of responsibility, signaling that the Tejas is moving from symbol to fleet workhorse.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

The MiG-21 Bison, India’s last variant of the iconic supersonic fighter, combined blistering Mach 2 speed and agility with modernized avionics, helmet-cued R-73 and R-77 missiles, and electronic countermeasures, serving for decades as a fast-climbing point-defense interceptor and frontline multirole fighter (Picture source: Indian Air Force).

What made the MiG-21 endure so long in Indian forces was a deceptively simple airframe wrapped around potent engines and, later, a modernized avionics spine. The Bison-standard aircraft at the end of service life retained the Tumansky R-25-300 turbojet, rated around 40 kN dry and roughly 70 kN in full afterburner, with a short-duration emergency thrust regime that gave pilots extra punch for vertical maneuvers. That power pushed the slender delta to about Mach 2 at altitude with a service ceiling near 17,500 meters, while the jet’s small frontal area and tight planform kept drag low and acceleration brisk. The tradeoffs were classic delta-wing compromises. Internal fuel was limited, so combat radius demanded careful throttle discipline and smart use of external tanks. High approach speeds and narrow gear gave the aircraft a reputation for demanding landings, especially on short or elevated strips, which Indian pilots mastered over decades of routine operations.

Late-life Indian MiG-21s earned their relevance through the Bison upgrade that transformed sensors, weapons, and pilot interface. The cockpit moved to a glass layout with a modern head-up display and multifunction screens, plus hands-on-throttle-and-stick controls that reduced workload. The Phazotron Kopyo pulse-Doppler radar provided look-down shoot-down capability, track-while-scan of multiple targets, and reliable cueing for beyond visual range missiles. Paired with a helmet-mounted sight, the Bison could sling R-73 high off-boresight infrared missiles at angles that surprised opponents used to treating legacy Fishbeds as short-range-only threats. Compatibility with the R-77 active radar missile extended engagement envelopes into the medium range, while an Indian Tarang radar warning receiver and carriage of the EL/L-8222 self-protection jammer raised survivability against modern fire-control radars. Under the nose, a twin-barrel GSh-23L 23 mm cannon with roughly 200 rounds remained the last-ditch persuader during merges and for strafing runs. Five external hardpoints carried a typical loadout of two or four air-to-air missiles plus a centerline tank or ECM pod, with a maximum external payload in the two-ton class for mixed air-to-air and air-to-ground tasks.

In Indian service, the Bison standard exploited the jet’s small radar cross-section and quick climb to serve as a point-defense interceptor. Scrambling from dispersed bases, a two-ship could be on top of intruders quickly, force an adversary to respect radar-guided shots they did not expect from a 1960s airframe, then drag the fight into a high off-boresight merge where the helmet-cued R-73 could end things in seconds. In strike, the aircraft retained utility for battlefield air strikes with unguided rockets and bombs, but payload and range placed natural limits on deep interdiction. That balance of speed, surprise, and modern missiles meant the Bison remained a spoiler even as fourth-generation fighters proliferated around the region. The price was maintenance intensity and the need to sustain exacting pilot proficiency, realities that weighed more heavily as airframes aged.

The MiG-21 was the launchpad for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to master license production of supersonic fighters at scale. Early FL and M/MF variants assembled in India gave way to the bis, which became the backbone of the fleet by the 1980s and 1990s. The Bison program in the late 1990s then stretched total technical life by improving a proven airframe with contemporary sensors. That combination turned the Fishbed into both a training crucible and a frontline interceptor, a rare dual role that allowed the IAF to field mass while absorbing new technologies at a measured pace. Attrition across a very large fleet and very high sortie counts also shaped public perceptions. Indian officials have long argued that the safety record must be read against decades of intense operations, hot-and-high geography, and the fact that MiG-21 units carried a significant share of advanced conversion training as newer types arrived.

The Chandigarh ceremony also underscored the force planning problem now in front of New Delhi. With MiG-21 operations ended, the IAF sits below its long-declared squadron strength target and must rebuild combat mass without a capability trough. That path now runs through the Tejas Mk1A, which brings an active electronically scanned array radar, a contemporary electronic warfare suite, networked weapons, and full compatibility with modern aerial refueling and data links. The shift reduces the logistics burden of sustaining 1960s-era spares while aligning squadron tactics with today’s command and control architecture. In the near term, the IAF must convert MiG-21 units to Tejas rapidly, protect sortie generation during transition, and carry the fleet until Tejas Mk2 and the AMCA program mature. A parallel conversation on a foreign fighter manufactured largely in India remains a hedge to shore up numbers and mission specialization.

India’s Rafale fleet anchors the high end of the IAF’s force mix, complementing Tejas and Su-30MKI with true 4.5-generation reach. The jet brings RBE2 AESA radar, Spectra electronic warfare, sensor fusion, and long-range weapons like Meteor and SCALP, giving India deep-strike and beyond-visual-range dominance in contested airspace. Based on forward hubs such as Ambala and Hasimara, Rafales provide quick-reaction air defense, precision strike, and nuclear-capable deterrence roles. In coverage terms, they are the spearhead that buys time and strategic space while the indigenous Tejas line scales up in numbers.

India plans against a two-front problem that pairs a nuclear-armed Pakistan with a far more capable China, fielding fifth-generation aircraft and dense ground-based air defenses along the Line of Actual Control. In that environment, the Fishbed’s departure is a structural inflection point that forces the IAF to close the numbers gap while climbing the capability ladder. Moving mass into an all-digital, networked cockpit with domestic sustainment is the strategic bet.