An Indian Air Force MiG-21 crashed in Rajasthan’s Hamumangarh district on Monday, defence sources said adding that the pilot is safe.
According to sources, the pilot is safe but sustained minor injuries and the army’s helicopter has reached the accident site for rescue.
The IAF tweeted: “A MiG-21 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Suratgarh during a routine training sortie today morning. The pilot ejected safely, sustaining minor injuries.”
An inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident, reports suggest.
The aircraft had taken off from Suratgarh according to IAF Sources.
This incident cast serious doubt on the operational capabilities of MiG-21 which is already being phased out.
Besides, the Indian armed forces have witnessed a series of such fatal incidents that mostly point out technical glitches.
Earlier on July 28 last year, two pilots in a twin-seater Mig-21 trainer aircraft died after sustaining fatal injuries when it crashed near Barmer district of Rajasthan.
Earlier in January, one pilot lost his life after two Indian Air Force fighter jets – a Sukhoi Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 – crashed during a training exercise in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur.
While one aircraft crashed in Morena in Madhya Pradesh, the other crashed and landed in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur.
Again, last week an Indian Army chopper crashed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.
Another accident happened in Kochi in April when a Coast Guard helicopter during trials made a crash landing.
This March in Mumbai a Navy chopper had “ditched” after performing VVIP duties.
In October last year, two incidents of army chopper crashes were reported in Arunachal Pradesh.
On October 5, 2022, a Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh leading to the death of one Indian Army pilot.
On the top, just a fortnight later, five defence personnel were killed, who were on board the Indian Army Aviation Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) – ALH WSI based at Likabali (Assam), which crashed near Siang village, 25 kilometres away from the Tuting headquarters in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal on October 21.
Outdated MiG-21
Currently, the IAF has around 70 Mig-21 aircraft.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has laid out a three-year timeline to phase out the remaining four MiG-21 fighter squadrons with one of them set to retire from service.
Recently, the IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari outlined the phasing out of MiG-21. He also recognised the urgency of replacing the outdated MiG-21.
According to the IAF officials, the plan is to retire all four MiG-21 squadrons by 2025.
The first fleet of the Mig variant was inducted into the IAF in 1963 and India procured over 700 Mig variants in the subsequent decades.
Under the modernization plan to replace its ageing fighter fleet, the Ministry of Defence has already approved a ₹48,000 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for the procurement of 83 Tejas fighter aircraft.
The IAF is also in the process of procuring 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA).
So far, the IAF is struggling to maintain its strength of 42 squadrons and with the phasing out of the ageing fleet, the number of squadrons will be reduced to 30.