No plan to phase out IAF MiG-21s

RAJAT PANDIT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2002 04:33:03 AM ]

NEW DELHI: Despite the frequent MiG-21 crashes, the government on Wednesday once again asserted that it had no plans to phase out these fighters. But even if the government wanted to, sheer economics would prevent it from doing so since the MiG-21s form the backbone of India’s combat fleet.

The different MiG-21 versions, including trainers capable of combat, constitute as much as 40 per cent of the around 900 combat aircraft in the IAF inventory. The cost of replacing them would run into thousands of crores. If other fighters of the same family like MiG-23s, MiG-27s and MiG-29s are included, the figure shoots up to almost 80 per cent. More advanced fighters in terms of technology like the Sukhois, Mirages and Jaguars form just around 20 per cent of the fleet.

Moreover, an upgraded MiG-21 “Bison” fighter — the first squadron of which is now become operational — comes at a cost of around Rs 20 crore. Conversely, the price of a new jet like the AMX light strike fighter or the F-16 ranges from Rs 75 crore to Rs 150 crore.

Consequently, IAF officers say the upgraded MiG-21 “Bisons” are likely to be in service till 2015. Defence minister George Fernandes, in turn, told Parliament on Wednesday that the safety of the MiG-21 aircraft has never been in doubt. “In fact, the aircraft are in the process of being modernised and as such there are no plans to retire the aircraft,” he said.

“However, on account of expiry of total technical life and inadequate product support, the MiG-21s inducted earlier are proposed to be phased out,” he added. Responding to questions on the crashes, Fernandes admitted that IAF had purchased “reconditioned” (second-hand) engines for MiG-21s but only “after thorough scrutiny of their health by a team of experts”.

He added that “no second-hand spares” for the aircraft had been purchased by the IAF. The fact, however, remains that the MiG-21s continue to crash at an alarming rate. As per latest statistics, 110 MiG-21s have crashed since 1992-1993.

Of these 110 crashes, 44 were due to “technical defects” and 43 due to “human error”. In sharp contrast, no Mirage-2000 has crashed in the last nine years.