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| Air Force MiG-21 aircraft crashed in Rajasthan |
New Delhi - An Indian Air Force MiG 21 fighter plane crashed in the Barmer district of Rajasthan on Thursday (28/7/2022) night. The incident resulted in the death of two MiG 21 fighter pilots.
Quoted from Defense View, the exact cause of the MiG 21 fighter plane crash is not yet known. The wreckage of the plane was found strewn across a half kilometer stretch in the village of Bhimda in Barmer.
MiG-21 aircraft were involved in a surprise attack in the Baytu area when the crash occurred. The exact cause of the plane crash is not yet known.
The Indian Air Force has ordered a court of inquiry to determine the cause of the crash. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh mourned the deaths of the two Indian Air Force pilots. He said the services of the two pilots to the nation will never be forgotten.
India's Ministers of Air Force and Defense expressed their condolences on Twitter. Meanwhile, an investigative tribunal has been set up to determine the cause of the accident.
Quoted from the First Post, the MiG-21 is the longest fighter aircraft in India. The MiG-21 was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau (OKB) of the former Soviet Union. The MiG-21 aircraft made its maiden flight on June 16, 1955.
India acquired its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, and gradually included 874 variants of the Soviet supersonic fighter to increase its combat potential.
The 1962 war with China as well as increasing hostility with Pakistan have given urgency to efforts to rapidly increase the military capabilities of India's indifferent despite its cash-strapped economy.
The Soviet Union was willing to sell the MiG-21 fighter on very favorable terms and even agreed to licensed production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The aircraft has undergone various updates and modifications since then. For years, the MiG has been a mainstay of the Indian Air Force. As per the 2019 News18 report, more than 1,200 MiG fighters have been introduced to the IAF.
The aircraft received incredible coverage in 2019 when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was piloting the plane, shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter a day after India carried out the Balakot airstrike.
Nevertheless, the MiG-21 is known as the "flying coffin" due to its poor safety record. In March 2022, Group A Captain Gupta also lost his life in a MiG-21 fighter jet crash.
From 1970 to date, more than 170 Indian pilots and 40 civilians have died in MiG-21 crashes. Between 2003 and 2013, 38 MiG-21 fighter jets were lost in accidents.