MiG-21 was a demanding mentor that helped build factories from dust, transformed farm boys into fighter pilots, and dragged an entire nation into the brutal reality of modern warfare.
In May last yr, Squadron Leader PD Dongre's aircraft suffered critical failure soon after take-off, necessitating a flapless landing, a challenging configuration for MiG-21 Bison.
IAF down to 31 fighter squadrons on paper against sanctioned strength of 42. Number will go down further next year when 2 remaining squadrons of MiG 21 Bison get phased out.
Total number of crashes this year is more than twice that in 2020. But defence sources say this is ‘within expected levels’ when measured against the total flying hours.
The IAF wing commander, who has resumed flying following his crash in the aftermath of the Balakot strikes, flew a MiG-21 Type 69 aircraft as co-pilot.
The plan is to make Abhinandan Varthaman fly during the Apache attack helicopters induction ceremony in Pathankot on 3 September. He’s medically cleared.
Russia, which buried the MiG-21 in 1985, has asked for 3 aircraft for demonstrations of vintage flying. India, which still uses it, has agreed to the gift.
Global leadership will require the ability to mediate conflicts and anchor policy in ethical reasoning. The intellectual resources for such leadership exist within India’s civilisational heritage.
West Asia war threatens to push already fragile industry deeper into crisis. Latest disruption is playing out differently for bigger and small-scale players in Surat’s diamond industry.
The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.
Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.
Socialist Modi govt might be thinking how much it will earn by selling the scraps of MiG 21s to fund socialist schemes and garner votes.
Excellent article!