Dump Ageing Mig 21s

1st:

MiG-21 crashes in Rajasthan
(Times of India, 15 March 2002)

An IAF MiG-21 crashed in the border district of Barmer in Rajasthan on March 15th. The pilot of the plane bailed out before it hit the ground, a police spokesman in Jaipur said. The aircraft, which was on a regular training flight, crashed in the desert land between Bayatu and Sindhari villages, he said.
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2nd:
Dump ageing MiG 21s: PAC
Pulling up the government for long delays in the development of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft and the upgradation programme for MiG 21s, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Thursday called for immediate phasing out of the ageing MiG fleet, notwithstanding the enormous costs involved.

Pointing out with concern that between 1991-2000, 221 MiG 21s worth Rs 2385 mn were lost and 100 pilots lost their lives, the PAC in its 29th reported tabled in Parliament said “the nation can ill afford to carry on with this aging fleet any longer.”

“The IAF is saddled with a sad compromise between what the nation can afford and what ought to be discarded,” the parliamentary committee said and asked the government to vigorously pursue the indigenous LCA project.

The committee has taken exception to the continued slippage on the MiG 21 BIS upgradation programme and asked the government to ensure that there were no further delays.

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The recent crash on March 15th must have triggered this…..hope IAF does something quick, althou HAL says the second LCA will be flown early next month.