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The Indian Air Force is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of ageing MiG-21 fighter jets in September, with the other three scheduled to be phased out over the next three years, people familiar with the development said on Friday.The phasing out of the squadrons is not linked to the July 28 Barmer crash that killed two fighter pilots, but is part of an earlier air force plan to replace the MiG-21s with newer fighter jets, the officials said.The squadron being retired in two months is the Srinagar-based No. 51 squadron, which is also known as “Sword Arms,” said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named. Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman, who was awarded Vir Chakra for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 during a dogfight over the Line of Control on February 27, 2019, was in the No. 51 squadron then.The dogfight took place a day after IAF bombed a terror facility in Pakistan’s Balakot.Several MiG-21s have crashed in recent years with the accidents turning the spotlight on India’s longest-serving fighter plane, its safety record and IAF’s plans to replace the ageing jets with newer ones in the coming years.The air force got its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, and it went on to induct 874 variants of the Soviet-origin supersonic fighters to bolster its combat potential. More than 400 MiG-21s have been involved in accidents that have claimed the lives of around 200 pilots during the last six decades, the officials said.IAF will induct different variants of Tejas light combat aircraft to replace the MiG-21s.

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National :MiG-21 crash: IAF to retire one squadron by September 2022, entire fleet to be phased out by 2025

The Indian Air Force is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of ageing MiG-21 fighter jets ... ...