According to information published by the Indian Air Force on X on September 26, 2025, the service staged a MiG-21 culmination ceremony at Air Force Station Chandigarh to mark the final flights of India’s first supersonic fighter. The sendoff featured a last sortie by the Chief of Air Staff, a water-cannon salute on recovery, and formation flypasts that paired the retiring Fishbed with its indigenous successor, the LCA Tejas. The moment closed a 62-year chapter that began when the MiG-21 entered IAF service in 1963 and grew to define India’s Cold War and post–Cold War airpower. It was both a tribute and a transfer of responsibility, signaling that the Tejas is moving from symbol to fleet workhorse. Read full defense news at this link...
The MiG-21 Bison, India’s last variant of the iconic supersonic fighter, combined blistering Mach 2 speed and agility with modernized avionics, helmet-cued R-73 and R-77 missiles, and electronic countermeasures, serving for decades as a fast-climbing point-defense interceptor and frontline multirole fighter (Picture source: Indian Air Force).