India prepares retirement of last MiG-21 fleet as global numbers continue to fall

Serbia ended its use of the MiG-21 in 2021, Romania did so in 2023, and Croatia retired its last units in 2024. With India's planned phase-out later this year—replacing them with newer Tejas Mk1A fighters—the number of active-duty MiG-21s will be mostly confined to China and a few smaller air forces.

The original MiG-21F "Fishbed-C" featured a single turbojet engine capable of reaching speeds near Mach 2. It was armed with cannons and could carry infrared-homing missiles similar to those used by Western air forces at the time. Over three decades, three major Soviet plants produced thousands for both domestic use and export.

China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation developed the J-7 based on Soviet designs but introduced numerous changes over nearly fifty years of production. More than 2,400 J-7s were built until production ended in 2013. Export orders came from countries such as Bangladesh, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan (which received large numbers), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Egypt, Tanzania, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea.

Czechoslovakia’s Aero Vodochody assembled S-106 models under license between the early sixties and early seventies. India began local production after securing a license agreement in August 1962; its Nasik facility delivered various models through to the mid-eighties before upgrades led to the “Bison” variant entering service in the early 2000s.

As more advanced aircraft replace aging fleets worldwide—including India's transition to indigenous Tejas jets—the legacy of the MiG-21 endures primarily among nations seeking affordable supersonic capability despite lacking modern stealth or avionics features.