How are the MiG-21 fighter jets being phased out? | Explained

November 08, 2023 08:30 am | Updated 10:14 am IST The story so far: On October 31, 2023 MiG-21 fighter jets of the No. The squadron has been operating the MiG-21 since 1966 and is now being re-equipped with the Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft, said Colonel Amitabh Sharma, PRO Defence Rajasthan in a statement. “We will stop flying the MiG-21 fighter aircraft by 2025 and we will replace the MiG-21 squadron with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft -Mk1A… The induction of the LCA Mark-1A will fill the gap of these MiG-21s,” he had said. Although Pakistan had initiated the war with pre-emptive air strikes against major forward air bases, the IAF “rapidly gained the initiative and had thereafter dominated the skies over both fronts.Six squadrons of MiG-21FLs were part of the IAF’s order-of battle, participating in operations both in the Eastern and Western Sectors,” it says. In the last few years, the IAF has inducted two squadrons of the LCA Tejas and two squadrons of Rafale fighter jets procured from France which pushed the squadron strength to over 30.