In a major step to ensure flight safety, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will retire 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base comprising the MiG-21 Bison aircraft by September 30 this year.

On Thursday evening, Wing Commander M Rana and Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal perished in a MiG-21 Type 69 Trainer crash that occurred in Barmer, Rajasthan.

"The 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base is being number plated on September 30. After this, only three squadrons of the planes would be left in service and would be phased out by the year 2025," sources in the IAF told ANI.

Now every year, one squadron each of these planes would be number plated, they said.

The squadron being retired in two months is the Srinagar-based No. 51 squadron, which is also known as “Sword Arms,” said one of the officials cited above. Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman, who was awarded Vir Chakra for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 during a dogfight over the Line of Control on February 27, 2019, was in the No. 51 squadron then.

The crash of the MiG-21 aircraft has once again highlighted IAF’s ageing fleet of Soviet-origin Mig-21 aircraft which were involved in around 200 accidents since their first induction in the early 1960s.

The air force got its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, and it went on to induct 874 variants of the Soviet-origin supersonic fighters to bolster its combat potential. 

In the last 20 months, 6 MiG-21s have been lost in crashes in which five pilots have lost their lives.

The LCA Tejas aircraft were scheduled to replace the MiG-21s long ago, but delays in their introduction have compelled the IAF to continue using these aircraft.

Before flying, the IAF conducts thorough inspections of these aircraft, and all safety precautions are taken, according to the officer.

 “Was there a choice? You have to have a certain number of fighter planes to guard your skies. The induction of multi-role fighters was delayed, only 36 Rafales came instead of the projected requirement of 126 jets, the light combat aircraft (LCA) programme is behind schedule and fighters such as Sukhoi-30 have had serviceability issues. IAF had to make do with its MiG-21 fleet,” former assistant chief of air staff Air Vice Marshal Sunil Nanodkar (retired) earlier said.

As a result of recent fatal crashes involving Soviet-era fighter jets, safety concerns have grown and authorities are being forced to accelerate the introduction of LCA Tejas aircraft.

Image source: IAF