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He was Arjun's arrow,

a flying sword.

Fierce like the sun…

the wind's own warrior.

The zeal of the Army…

wild and intoxicated.

Across the frontier,

he used to travel like an arrow.

Having struck down the enemy,

he used to return a hero.

MiG-21.

I myself joined this aircraft as a pilot officer,

I remember, way back in 1985.

And about 70% of the fighter pilots of the Air Force

have been trained on this aircraft.

MiG-21 is,

I think, one of the most beautiful thing which was ever produced in the world.

Sixty countries in the world flew this,

and every pilot who flew, fell in love.

Every pilot who didn't fly was dying of envy.

And he wanted to, some way, get a chance to get into MiG-21 cockpit,

just to get a feel of actual fighter pilot.

As a child, I saw all those war movies of First World War

and the camera being in the cockpit, and how the aircraft was manoeuvring.

You know, that sparked my imagination, and that is how I decided that okay,

I'll join the military but I'll come and join the Air Force

because I wanted to fly.

I was a young bachelor, so MiG-21 was my sweetheart.

Only one I had at that time.

So first time I saw the MiG-21, I thought it's like a rocket.

It is a kind of alien aircraft which I couldn't believe can fly.

Because it doesn't have the kind of aerodynamic structures

which I normally am used to in an aircraft,

which is big wings, and big tailplane.

And I just refused to believe that it can really fly successfully…

till I flew it.

I am Air Commodore Amit Budhwar. Currently, I am

Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Nal.

I have about nearly 3,000 hours of flying

and I have operated across

many Air Force Stations in the length and breadth of the country.

So, 23 Squadron is the last squadron

which is flying the MiG-21s in an operational role.

I'm Group Captain Nanda Rajender.

I'm the Commanding Officer of 23 Squadron presently.

My first operational squadron was 23 squadron

and this is my third posting to the squadron.

As everyone is aware, the legend is being phased out.

So it's a matter of pride

for being given the opportunity to command the last MiG-21 squadron.

I don't think even the first-term Commanding Officer

who inducted MiG-21 would've ever imagined

that this aircraft is going to serve for 62 years.

I'm Group Captain Mohit Gupta.

Presently I am the Flight Commander of 23 squadron which has got the privilege

of being the last fighter squadron…

not only in Indian Air Force, but I think world over,

to fly the MiG-21s.

A squadron which has got many greats

in the history of Indian Air Force.

I am squadron leader Priya Sharma.

I am flying a MiG-21 Bison and I got commissioned in December 2018.

MiG-21 is brutally honest.

Whatever it says, you can feel it very clearly.

It's scary, it's aggressive.

It knows how to scare people.

I'm Wing Commander Sunil Yadav.

I have been flying this machine for last 16 years.

Hi, I'm Wing Commander S Chetan Giridhar. I'm posted in Panthers

from last year in April,

and I've been associated with MiG-21s for last 13 years,

and I'm also a test pilot.

For a fighter pilot, your aircraft is kind of your first love.

I was not even driving motorcycles when I was learning to fly.

So yeah, I have a lot of love for MiG-21s.

MiG-21s, it was like they were born at this base.

It was like coming out of mother's womb. This was a place where they did come out.

They survived, they thrived, they gave us national security.

And finally, this is the place from where they are bidding farewell.

Or rather, we are bidding farewell to that great fleet.

So, it's a very emotional moment for all of us who are based here,

and definitely for everyone

who has either flown this machine, or has maintained it.

I've been seeing MiG-21

since I was very young as a child,

because I grew up in air force stations.

My father was in Indian Air Force.

So, I have seen MiG-21s all during my schooling,

and it actually in a way I can say, came naturally to me.

I never thought of doing anything else except for becoming a MiG-21 pilot.

Anybody who has come into the Air Force after the stage one training,

they come in at the age of 21, 22.

So that is a young impressionable age

and MiG-21, there is no extra flab.

It is there in your face all the time.

Sleek, sharp,

and you have to be on top of your game

to ride the MiG-21.

Absolutely pristine,

a weapon, a legend on its own.

I am ex-NDA.

So in our parade ground, we have a MiG-21 on display.

That's the first time I saw it.

Literally, the thing which came to my mind is, "Where are the wings?"

So I started flying the glider initially

and there was a lovely wing on both sides

to tell me,

"Okay, that is what is keeping us flying."

However, when I came on to the MiG-21,

I found that the wings were way behind

and you couldn't really see the wings on both sides.

So I was a bit confused on that, and it kind of even gave me some times

a kind of disorientation kind of feeling,

initially,

till I got used to it.

A pilot came in our squadron

and he was a MiG-21 pilot.

So we all rushed towards the tarmac to look at it.

And the moment we entered the cockpit, we were feeling so amazed.

There were so many instruments, so many gauges.

The brakes are on the control stick.

It was different from anything I'd ever flown or seen.

So I was in awe of this aircraft.

Something that clicks me is the reverberating sound it makes

while it is taking off.

And that is one thundering noise which keeps my heart also pounding.

So the first feeling that I got is that,

"Gosh, this makes so much noise!"

Tower to one, cleared for take-off.

As a controller, you wear headset,

and you are supposed to discern what the pilot is saying.

So initially, I was not able to make out what the pilot is communicating on RT.

Tower to one, winds twelve o' clock, five kilometres,

runway three-six, cleared to land.

The first day when I sat down in the aircraft,

that was to learn.

My instructor took me up to turn the aircraft.

He said, "Look down."

I got so scared.

I was holding the seat, more worried about falling off.

And looking down,

my eyes are open, but it was total blank.

The instructor must have understood there.

He reduced the bank. He said, "Now look down."

I looked down, I saw the Gurudwara over there.

He says, "Pray that we are getting into the profession."

And then, there was the time to go solo.

So people had scared me enough that, you know,

you will forget something or you will not be able to land.

You will just mess it up really bad.

And I was not confident.

Nobody is confident when they first fly this aircraft.

Though I was very qualified in other aircraft,

but I do not remember

when I took off in a MiG-21

for my first solo, and when I landed.

Everything just happened in a glance, which I can say.

We didn't feel comfortable.

Not only me, all my coursemates.

Because first few sorties,

they actually got over

before we could say Jack Robinson.

Initially, I was apprehensive,

wondering what would happen in the sortie, and all that.

And I stuffed a lot of puke bags

all over the anti-G suits, all prepared for the eventuality.

And the pilot did a vertical Charlie

and somewhere in between, I conked off.

And by the time it was about to land, that is the time I gained consciousness

and all I remember is that I utilised one of the puke bags.

So that was the first time

in the MiG-21 cockpit.

I simply had a lot of respect for all the pilots after that.

The first feeling doesn't come just when you take off.

It comes as soon as you start strapping up.

Because once you strap up, it becomes a part of your body.

So right from the word go,

when you start the aircraft, you can feel the vibrations.

When the reheat kicks in, in the MiG-21,

for a pilot who's just joined in new,

there is that kick that pilots used to feel.

In fact, a lot of pilots who flew on MiG-21s,

they talk about

light…

light…

fork…

drop,

kick.

That kick is the thrust that the MiG-21 used to give.

The moment the aircraft is about to roll,

you get a backward jolt.

Even in civil aircraft, when the aircraft starts rolling, you get that kick.

You get a feeling of being pushed backwards.

So you can multiply that push into, say, hundred thousand times,

that is the kind of push you're going to get in the cockpit

when you engage reheat and commence your roll.

I went solo after I think, eight dual checks in Tezpur.

Thirty squadron.

So you know, there is no time for melancholy and feeling

and, you know, it's not Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, or something.

No. There's no time for all that.

So we are more bothered about sticking to our briefing

than having any feeling.

When you are in this aircraft, you are like Superman.

You can do whatever the aircraft can do,

whether it's flying at 100 feet or 100 metres.

You can carry out attacks on enemy tanks.

You can carry out attacks on just normal targets.

You can do anything, because it's so manoeuvrable, and so multidimensional.

Our instructors used to tell us that

God has created humans only to walk and run, not to swim and fly.

But humans have taken on that challenge.

So to keep yourself alive by that logic, you have to be good.

My generation, all of us have started flying fighters from MiG-21s.

We had MiG operational flying training units.

These are the units which train raw pilots who have just got commissioned

into the Air Force, to operate MiG-21 aircraft.

So it was a route for everyone. You first go and you fly there.

So that sets your routine,

the way you go about your day-to-day working.

And then it continued with us for rest of our life.

Everything, initially, was all mechanical.

Because you had gone like a robot, you're doing all the actions.

Because you're so well prepared, you know at this stage, you'll do this action.

You've done blindfold check.

Blindfold check, we mean that you're put in the cockpit, your eyes are closed

and then you ask,

"Switch A," so your hand should go there. "Switch B," your hand should go there.

Brake, stick, everything.

So you get so used to, that if you blindfold me,

I'll still bring the aircraft back and land it safely.

Actually, the instructors also tell you,

and you also have to ingrain in your mind

that you cannot make the aircraft too big.

Otherwise you'll become fearful of the aircraft.

For any trainee officer who goes from a training aircraft

to a first operational aircraft, there is always an iota of doubt in his mind,

"How am I going to hack it?"

So the same thing popped up in my mind,

especially when you know the fact

that this is the fastest aircraft to take off and land.

MiG-21 doesn't forgive in case

you're making any mistakes or not. That discipline has to come in your life.

For my life, it came through MiG-21 and so I'll say it's my mentor.

And whatever I'm in Air Force, how my life is shaped,

that is because of MiG-21s.

Indian Air Force gives about eleven dual sorties in the trainer

when the instructor is sitting behind you.

Fortunately, by the time you go for the solo check,

your confidence level, from being almost zero,

it comes down to about 60-70 percent.

And thereafter, if you are found fit,

they send you solo in a single seat fighter aircraft.

It requires little more concentration,

or the effort in piloting the aircraft.

You have to be always up to it.

You should not be behind the aircraft at any stage.

When you come to the operational squadron,

there's a day ops syllabus.

You'd learn how to fly it as a machine in war, in combat.

Now if war breaks out tomorrow, you can fly it during the day in combat.

Then you do your night syllabus.

And then when you finish that, then you become fully ops.

It used to almost take two years, plus,

after joining the squadron till you became fully ops.

I have seen scores of young pilots

getting trained on MiG-21s

and passing out from these units.

That was the very first posting I've had, and today I'm here

as a Chief Admin Officer of Air Force Station Nal.

This station also,

the reason for its existence

has been MiG-21 operations.

And to see that this legacy aircraft is bidding adieu,

it is like life coming full circle for me.

We, the whole contingent, will move to another base

where it is more convenient for people to come and attend

the culmination ceremony of MiG-21 operational flying.

For me, personally, I will get to meet many veterans, seniors,

who'll be coming to attend that ceremony, who've taught me and my generation

how to walk to the aircraft, how to take off, how to land.

So it'll be good to fly in front of them and show them

that we are maintaining this the way they taught us.

When the Russians built this aircraft in the 1950s and '60s,

it was basically made as an interceptor,

and it was to intercept the intruding western aircraft.

In those days, there was an American aircraft, the U-2.

So the MiG-21 was built to intercept them.

And, you know, it was a time when we needed an aircraft

to create air superiority in our region,

and MiG-21 was sought after that time.

We got Type 74 and then 76 in 1963 at Chandigarh.

For the entire Air Force,

and for a defence setup, it was a historic moment

because MiG-21, at that time, was one of the aircraft

with modern avionics and quite modern technology for that time.

So it gave us that edge against our adversaries.

The 28th squadron is called First Supersonics,

and it's because of this aircraft that the squadron was named First Supersonics.

Because MiG-21 was the first supersonic aircraft

in the Indian Air Force.

The first war wherein it was used was 1965,

wherein it was the most advanced fighter of the Indian Air Force then.

And thereafter, for almost two decades, it has been the most advanced fighter.

And even after the induction of Mirages and the MiG-29s,

MiG-21 remained the vanguard of any Indian offensive

or defence action which our military has taken.

Air Force evolved with MiG-21.

That means 21 grew from six aircraft to 31 units

in the Indian Air Force

which were only MiG-21.

So which actually formed nearly 70% of the Air Force.

'71 war, we had bombed Dhaka runway, and totally rendered them useless.

Because now their pilots couldn't take off,

that means, what kind of warrior are you if there's no enemy to fight?

TACDE, Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment,

where the MiG-21s had struck important airfields at night.

These were Chaklala, Sargodha, Risalewala.

These all airfields were struck by a single aircraft going again and again.

And the complexity of this operation

cannot be judged right now

because there was no navigation system guiding the pilots.

It was just pure time, map and airspeed management.

Another notable part of the 1971 war

was the attack on the governor's residence in Dhaka, East Pakistan.

The pilots got the information very last minute

about an important meeting happening.

So they had a tourist map.

The attack was so intense and so timely on the enemy's command structure.

This was 14th of December.

15th of December,

Governor of Dhaka, he signed his resignation.

And 16th of December, as we all know,

Pakistan forces had to surrender with 93,000 troops.

And Indian Air Force, along with Indian Army,

had carved out a new nation

called Bangladesh today.

When the Kargil War broke out, I was posted in Chabua.

It falls in the eastern sector, extreme east.

We received a message asking us to commence movement.

With operations like this, when war breaks out,

we shift to wherever the action is unfolding.

Very little time is given for this.

Within 24 to 36 hours, we have to get our entire contingent ready,

get all the aircraft ready, and move.

So we got there, and the operation was carried out.

In Safed Sagar, to fly this aircraft to engage targets

at 14,000, 15,000,

the air is so rare and the weapon is not behaving the same manner.

So it was basically at that time, lot of you can say, jugaad, was done

to make the aircraft perform and then become more accurate

at those altitudes when we carried out our bombing, day and night.

One of my best experiences was when we were doing

our first night strike sortie…

during Operation Safed Sagar.

And the target was inside a valley, so we went inside the valley

and then we came down to one kilometre above the target level.

The snow-clad peaks on both sides

and, you know, the moon phase, they were looking beautiful.

Of course, I was keeping a track of my course and compass also,

what I was doing.

But at the same time, I could see all that and it was beautiful.

And then there is battle going on below you.

In fact, when we came and landed,

that is when Late Dhaliwal, he told me, "Sir, they are trading cigarette butts!"

I said, "No, they aren't trading cigarette butts, those are shells!"

The rear half of the shell gets heated up when it gets fired out of the barrel.

So you can see that red hot glow

of the rear half of the shell, and that's how you see the whole thing.

And in the cockpit, it is all quiet,

you don't know, actually, the death and devastation going on below.

I don't think so it's possible for anyone to get that unless he's gone into battle.

Op Safed Sagar, MiG-21 was deployed in all the roles.

I mean, it's been a extraordinary fighter.

We've used it for photo reconnaissance.

We've used it for strike.

We've used it for air defence.

In fact, some of the radio telephony chatter

that was picked up by the Indian Army.

The Pakistani forces which had come in and dug in,

they were short of rations, they were short of ammunition.

So this is the kind of effect that Indian Air Force

and of course, the MiG-21s also had.

Thereafter, in 1999 again,

Squadron Leader Bundela had shot down an intruding aircraft.

That was the Atlantic.

He had used the R-60 missile strapped on the MiG-21.

During Balakot operations,

I was Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command,

who is operational head of the Command.

And we were given about 14 days

to plan the Balakot operations.

Pakistan had to respond as a face saver.

We had Su-30s,

we had Mirage 2000s, all MiG-29s,

and also MiG-21.

And it so happened that on the final day,

the action which took place,

it was between F-16 and MiG-21.

It gives me great pride.

One is, it happened from Western Air Command, which I was heading.

And the second, it happened on MiG-21,

which could get the better of F-16.

And that's the reason why MiG-21 today is known as Falcon Slayer.

You take a ballpoint pen, put a dot on the paper,

that is how small the MiG-21 looks

to a pilot in the vast sky.

But as far as the enemy is concerned, if they are not trained with the MiG-21,

it is impossible to spot a MiG-21 till the time it gets into the kill ranges.

Nowadays, it's one of the rare occasions where you get to participate

in actual operations like Sindoor and Balakot.

Having participated in both of them,

it's a good experience and good learning value going forward.

This aircraft has been a forerunner,

you know, whether it was 1965 war or '71 war

or thereafter in 1999, Kargil War,

Atlantic shooting down in Bhuj area,

and then even in 2019,

the shooting down of F-16 by a Bison aircraft.

Can you imagine any fighter aircraft,

nearly 11,600 aircraft were produced

of MiG-21.

We in India produced nearly 674 MiG-21s.

So very large number.

So we could say that MiG-21 has been the backbone of Indian Air Force.

It has been the staple diet of Indian Air Force.

And colloquially you call, it was dal chawal of Indian Air Force.

Jai Hind, Air Warriors. As we know, MiG-21 phase out

has been planned at Chandigarh Air Base on 26th.

They'll be parked in this area, carrying out their tyre check here.

After carrying out tyre check for runway two-niner,

the aircraft will depart from here, and by middle marker, it'll get airborne.

If I give you reasons for flying 5,800 sorties on MiG-21,

my first reason was that I had to be

medically, physically and emotionally fit.

I don't recall my being medically unfit

for more than six to seven days throughout my flying career.

And for being emotionally stable, fit,

I'll give the credit to my family

because my wife single-handedly managed the household affairs,

the health, the education and well-being of the children.

And I did not have any worries about my home,

so I could focus my energies only towards flying.

Our families get trained from the very beginning.

Or you could say, we end up training them.

During Kargil, when I was in Chabua, my family wasn't with me.

Back then, there were no phones. So my wife would send me letters,

encouraging me to remain steadfast and not back down from national service.

They're also passionate.

You will realise that as long as the aircraft sound was there

for them to hear,

they were confident that everything is okay.

There were cases once or twice when, suddenly,

they'd stop hearing the sound of flying.

And I was fairly senior when my wife gave me a call,

"The sound of flying has stopped. What happened?"

So I just told her something happened,

so we had to stop flying for some time.

Their relations are directly with our emotions.

The day I come back happy, she knows he's got full three-four sorties.

The day you find I'm not happy, it means I've not flown that day.

My family is--

Yeah, they want a phone call from me every day.

I'm not able to promise that,

but yeah, I try to call them up every day.

They try not to discuss certain things with me over the weekdays

because they know I'll be flying

and they silently, you know, take care of me.

I remember a very interesting incident from that time.

My parents were not very eager for me to get married to him.

So they came to visit Kalaikunda and he met the flight commander also.

And the flight commander goes,

"Sir, you daughter will be very happy

if she marries a fighter pilot.

I'm telling you, he goes in the morning before sunrise.

Breakfast, lunch, all in the squadron.

By evening, he'll be so tired.

He won't have the energy to argue with your daughter.

So your daughter will be very happy.

If at all they end up fighting, it will only be on weekends,

and not before that."

At times, I spend more time with the aircraft than with my family

and I have been able to sustain it because of the support of my family.

There is a saying in Indian Air Force,

"If you think being a fighter pilot's difficult,

try being a fighter pilot's wife."

Probably, had I been a civilian wife,

I would have thought or made a big deal out of it.

But being in the Air Force, it's a job he is doing,

and it's a job he loves doing.

Frankly, when I'm flying, I think only about

what I'm supposed to do sitting in the cockpit.

I don't think about family, friends, any of that.

Thankfully, my better half, Squadron Leader Neha Devi,

is also a serving officer in the Indian Air Force.

So she has a better understanding of my work life.

As a wife, when he took over command of 23 Squadron,

I was very happy because he was Squadron Leader when I saw him.

So that time also, he was in 23 squadron, MiG-21.

So there's a lot of emotional attachment with the squadron from last 11 years.

So obviously I have a personal connect with the squadron and the aircraft.

Because had I not been in this aircraft,

had I not been in the squadron at that point of time,

I'd have never met Neha.

So just like when you're talking on a mobile,

you like to put a face to the voice you're hearing. So when you know

it's your wife who's on the other side, giving the RT transmission,

then of course, the feeling is going to be a bit different.

As a controller, when you know that your spouse is flying,

and you're sitting on RT,

so there is a bit of joy and also a little bit of cuteness.

It's all professional.

In the heart, there is a little bit of anxiety also,

but you know that

your husband loves what he is doing, so it gives you strength. So--

There is always a silent prayer, though I don't tell him.

So there are days when you don't feel like saying him,

"Don't fly today."

But as a controller, you understand you cannot say that.

It's not easy to say. So those feelings remain buried, unspoken.

We normally say it's the man behind the machine. No.

It is the family behind the man who is behind the machine.

If I give you a parlance, if you are a Formula One fan,

we go to max speeds of about 300, 350.

For a MiG-21, when you roll for take-off,

the airspeed indicator or the speedometer in common parlance,

starts registering only at 200 kmph.

So that is the speeds that we are looking at in MiG-21.

You see, MiG-21 by design was a high altitude interceptor.

It is supposed to intercept the B-52

or that Hound Dog missile or something. That is what it was originally built for,

that's why it's very fast.

See, when we engaged afterburner and released brakes,

I mean, it was like

Arjun's arrow had been released from his bow.

So we used to really get back into the seat, stuck.

And then, of course, slowly we got used to it.

I have flown all variants

including Type 77, Type 75, Type 96, Bison and Trainer Aircraft.

The best variant was Type 77.

If you ask any MiG-21 pilot, he will vouch for its manoeuvring.

We used to call it a flying Ferrari.

It's the fastest landing aircraft. No other aircraft has the speed Bison has.

It lands at such a fast speed,

sometimes you wonder, "Will it stop or not?"

But these are our pilots, our machines. Aircraft comes back to us safe and sound.

Again, I was in my training stage in Bidar,

and one of the pilots announced an emergency,

and that was a MiG-21 aircraft.

I was sitting with my instructor and I asked him what is this emergency.

So he said, "It's a pneumatic emergency and they don't have brakes."

I was like, "Why will they not have brakes?"

And I saw that aircraft land and that speed astonished me.

I asked, "What is the landing speed?"

He said, "It's 340 kmph."

And I was shocked.

I mean, it is a big thing to land this aircraft at such a speed.

After spacecraft, MiG-21s are the fastest in the world.

MiG-21 gets priority in landing because of the speed it has,

touchdown speed somewhere around 300 to 320.

So you have to take out other aircraft which have comparatively lesser speed

than MiG-21.

So irrespective of the fact that aircraft is on final approach track or not,

MiG-21 is rejoining,

you have to tell these,

"Vacate the final approach track. MiG-21 is on final."

Right from the word take-off, if I am immediately coming for landing,

by then it takes around five minutes,

and even in that five minutes, I've travelled around 40 kilometres.

The venue which has been chosen has been aptly chosen as Chandigarh,

because that's the place where the first MiG-21s

were inducted into the Indian Air Force.

So, it is historically apt, life comes a full circle.

The last flight takes over there.

Towards it, we are preparing by flying different kinds of formations,

working out how to go about it,

and how to signify the changeover of MiG-21 to the newer platforms.

And seeing which will be the best way

to give a befitting farewell to the aircraft.

Main motivation for a MiG-21 pilot is it's a single cockpit.

So today, if I sit in the cockpit,

to me, there can be no other blessing.

And anyone who makes that possible for me,

would be as good as God, as far as I go.

Once you've strapped up inside the cockpit and you've taken off, you're alone.

You're the person flying the aircraft.

Till the time you touch down, it's your responsibility.

So all your preparations, everything's--

you have to put up a good show.

So when I flew the MiG-21, it was 1:1.

And there was no interruption.

And subsequently, I went into civil flying

and I started flying airliners.

That's the time when I was getting used to the fact

that there's another guy in the cockpit, another lady also maybe.

And having the cabin crew come in,

they want some tea, they want some coffee, whatever.

That was so different from what I was used to flying in the Air Force.

When you go and sit inside the aircraft, you are not strapping yourself.

You are strapping the aircraft to your body.

So once we sit inside and we strap ourselves in,

we feel that we and the aircraft are the same.

You become part of it.

You live that aircraft and the aircraft lives through you.

It's very important for you to feel that you and the aircraft are one, so that

you understand each other and fly it the way it is supposed to be flown.

Whenever there are exercises over there, we park the aircraft on the runway side,

where we keep our canopy open.

Moment the scramble comes,

within two minutes, we have to get airborne.

You close the canopy. After closing the canopy, you have to lock it.

Then the pressurisation takes place.

Now in a hurry, I lined up.

Now when you were moving, the canopy was closed.

So, I didn't realise that I have not locked it.

As I got airborne, put the undercarriage up,

I found that some air started coming in,

and canopy going up.

I held on to it, pushed it down,

pushed the lever, locked everything,

landed back safely, all good.

Basically, the MiG-21 cockpit is quite cramped.

There are so many switches and instruments around.

Analog ones, not digital.

And you have to look at those instruments in a glance.

You don't have much time to look at it.

They have so many checks before they get airborne.

So seeing them doing all those checks within a span of time,

you know, their hands are tuned. I'm using my hands.

Their hands are tuned, their speech is tuned.

Now, just imagine the workload on the leader.

He is looking at the map and looking at his speed, looking at his direction.

He is thereafter now looking outside to check,

oh, if that culvert has come, the road is coming,

what angle the road is crossing, am I flying in the correct direction?

When you are going into a hostile environment, like say,

you are going into enemy territory,

you are looking for people who are trying to track you down,

to shoot you down.

So you have to scan not only for yourself,

but for the other guy who's on your right side.

And more than that, I'm looking for my number two's tail,

that no enemy or simulated enemy is coming for attack.

So then you have to react.

If you'd miss an aircraft at that point,

then he might be able to position in such a way that he can shoot

one of your aircraft down and you don't want that.

The moment I sat in the aircraft,

so there is no air-conditioning in the aircraft when you sit down.

So the air conditioning gets on once you are airborne.

And we were sitting in the cockpit in Suratgarh,

the extreme summer.

So I was all drenched in sweat

till the time aircraft asked for lineup,

and I was like,

"God, I don't know how they endure this much sweat before they get airborne."

MiG-21 is a Russian aircraft which was designed

as per their climate, which is-- Russia is a very cold country.

Whatever is temperature outside,

the temperature in the cockpit is about seven to eight degrees higher.

You can appreciate that when the temperature is 40 degrees outside,

the temperature in the cockpit is about 47 to 48 degrees centigrade.

And since it's all metal, if you are not careful

and you touch the skin of the aircraft, you may burn your fingers.

While we were making good landing, sir kept asking me,

"Neha, are you able to spot the runway?"

I initially said I'm looking out. Then I nodded, "Yes, sir, I can see,"

although I saw nothing.

So then I realised that in that cockpit,

spotting the runway is a challenge in itself.

The moment you finish one sortie and come down,

you are soaking wet in your sweat.

It took me some time to, you know,

there was that spinning in the head when I went,

and for me to just get my feet firmly on the ground itself took some time.

Whereas to imagine that the pilot does that

probably more than once in a day at times,

it is amazing.

When I gained about 500 to 700 hours on MiG-21

and you felt very comfortable in the cockpit, I started loving flying.

And my love for flying ensured that I preferred hot cockpit of MiG-21

as compared to the cool environment of my office or the crew room.

When I sit in the cockpit, I feel at home.

I feel very comfortable.

It's not a good thing to feel comfortable in the cockpit.

You should always be, you know, doing the job.

But when I sit inside the cockpit,

the comfort comes from knowing the aircraft,

from knowing the system, from knowing how it will behave.

You are now sitting as if you are sitting for a meditation.

Even the saints who sit, they take longer time to get into--

to get into that mood,

or to build that environment where they start thinking, connecting with God.

We actually connect with God moment the canopy goes down.

Fighter pilots, particularly MiG guys,

they never go and bow down in the feet of any of these saints

because they really don't find anything more special in them

than what one has achieved in their own life.

What I loved most was when we were flying in J&K,

and we were doing valley flying. Total whiteout.

There was nothing, just white snow down there.

So that was an amazing feeling actually.

The varied experience of each place is different.

Feeling of flying over a desert is different.

Flying over Himalayas, the feeling is different.

And flying over, say, Brahmaputra, the feeling is totally different.

I did a sea flying once and I think that was pretty intimidating.

I think that's quite challenging. There's nothing but water.

Now, if the aircraft can go twice the speed of sound, which it can,

or it can fly up to 60,000 feet,

you can see the curvature of the Earth at that altitude.

It's like you're halfway to space.

I would say that it's a very demanding aircraft because it is very unforgiving.

The mistakes that you make in flying, while flying this aircraft

multiply, you know, and come back to you.

Error is so small that at low levels, you can't do any errors.

Because the margin for error is so small, within no time, the aircraft may go down.

That is the reason why you are on the edge of your seat

looking out for terrain clearance, any obstructions.

So what generally our parents say is, "Fly low and fly slow."

Which we shouldn't be doing, especially in MiG-21.

The day you decide it is going to be a very easy sortie,

is the day it shows you that, you know,

it will make sure that you get a lesson in humility.

It will not come down easy on you.

You have to match up to the MiG-21.

You cannot not be prepared on a MiG-21 sortie.

You have to be at your 100 percent.

I was flying a MiG-21, leading a MiG-21, leading other aircraft also.

And that mission was not an operational mission,

but it was firepower demonstration

which was being witnessed by many senior dignitaries.

Well, my friends on the other types on that particular day may not agree with me,

but we did it better than others. There is one thing which goes with MiG-21,

that she never says no. It always delivers.

I don't think that an aircraft distinguishes

whether it is a female or a male sitting inside.

I think it treats everybody equally.

You see, this decision to get women into the fighters

was when I was the Vice Chief. So when I became the Chief,

they had finished their training and they were in Hawks.

I took a call that, okay, all of them will go through MiGs.

Because MiG is a very good discriminator.

Either you fly it or you flunk it.

You'll get thrown out.

No, there can be no mollycoddling in MiGs. Nobody can help you.

You know, you are on your own.

So it's a very, I would say, not a big fraternity, but we are getting there.

And I don't think anybody differentiates, anybody will differentiate,

as far as you are capable enough.

See, we fight the enemy through our machines.

We don't physically fight through muscle.

If you're fighting through muscle,

then there is a differentiation between man and woman.

But you are fighting the enemy through machines,

then it is how well you are operating the machine,

how much is your skill on operating the machine,

how much residual capacity you have got to fight with the machine.

So, all that, that is all gender-neutral.

In terms of preparation, we have been lucky enough

that our present AOC had also commanded a MiG-21 squadron.

I can say it's a happy coincidence that the final team

which is making all the preparations have all been associated with MiG-21

and have been associated with this squadron.

In terms of pilots, yeah, of course,

the number of pilots are very less as of now.

But in terms of experience,

I couldn't have asked for any better group of pilots.

So the responsibility of doing this ceremony

and flying in this ceremony rests with seven of us.

Also, some senior officers from Air Headquarters and Command Headquarters,

they have been coming here, occasionally flying.

And you might see some of them flying in the ceremony as well.

So everyone's eyes are going to be on the formation flying,

as to how we are going to execute it. Even the slightest flaw,

they are going to pick it up, because they have got loads of experience.

I would say that as administrators, our main contribution towards MiG-21s

would be in terms of the runway, the hangars

and other operational infrastructure.

If one were to frame it in terms of challenges, then…

we all have families.

There are people of all ages in a family.

And obviously, one must take special care of the elderly.

Because of the elderly issues,

knee pain, hip pain, someone may have a slight heart issue.

In taking care of those issues, challenges arise and sometimes,

things worsen, and you may have to go to the hospital suddenly at night.

Sometimes the hospital might tell you that something is beyond their expertise.

So you bring in super-specialist doctors, which in our case is, experts from HAL.

A pilot takes the aircraft into the air. After that,

we stick very close and keep an eye out the entire time,

constantly checking when our aircraft will re-enter the circuit.

It is like when a mother sends her child out to play,

she is constantly worried about her child's whereabouts,

where he might be, what he might be doing.

Before you line up for the take-off, the technical airman,

what he does, he goes around the aircraft and sees if there is any nail

or nut has gone loose, or something.

That's the last check.

Then the tyre checker, after he does last salute, he will do--

Means, do a little higher angle-of-attack take off.

So I used to line up and do this, and aircraft used to resonate like hell.

And that resonance used to resonate and vibrate the whole station.

The houses, the windows, the hangars.

And people who were wanting to rest, particularly senior guys,

they used to get very upset. Of course, then I used to get my normal dose,

"Can't you bloody behave and do a normal thing?"

"Yes, sir, I'll never repeat it," till next time you did it.

So these are something which, how you motivate your technical guys,

you make them feel that they are part of you.

In the decades of '80s, '90s and the first decade of 2000s,

Indian Air Force had inducted lot of new aircraft, starting from

Jaguars to MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Mirage 2000 and Su-30.

So at that moment,

more than 50% of the fighter squadrons consisted of MiG-21.

Because of this reason,

all the pilots who had gone to fly these aircraft

had gone from MiG-21 squadron.

In terms of pure flying,

no other platform in the Air Force right now can beat MiG-21

because most of the modern platforms, they've got the avionics suite

and indirectly or directly, they assist the pilot.

Spotting the enemy aircraft, flying by feel, was a part of the art.

However, today, modern aircraft have lot of sensors.

Therefore, we can say that flying today is more of a science

and less of an art.

There is a saying amongst pilots wherein you say

that if you have not flown a MiG-21, you have not flown at all.

And we MiG-21 pilots, we call ourselves the Thoroughbreds.

And others, we address as system managers.

I didn't want to use that word, but since he's got it,

the system management, so--

So there are Jaguars who come in,

the pilots will call themselves Jaguar pilots.

Sukhoi-30 squadron will come in,

they'll call themselves Su-30 pilots.

But we, the MiG-21 pilots, we call ourselves fighter pilots.

When my pilot engages the reheat, turns on the afterburner,

you hear a much louder boom.

The Su-30 pilot says that he has two engines.

Then I say that even with two engines, you can't match my single engine.

There used to be a lot of banter like this.

And whenever we'd be losing, we'd pull out the MiG-21's trump card,

"My take off speed is the highest, my landing speed is the highest."

The people who have not flown in MiG-21,

everybody wants to have a feel of what it takes to sit in the cockpit and fly.

But unfortunately for them, they don't have this opportunity,

and I think I am really blessed.

The mere fact that after 1971 ops, Indian Air Force has participated in

Kargil ops, in Balakot ops, and recently fought in Operation Sindoor,

is a testimony to the anchor role played by MiG-21.

No matter how old he is, he always turns up to prove himself.

Trust me, even if something were to happen today,

he will go prove himself and come back.

Red means danger.

I'd like to mention a special trade,

our weapon fitters, weapon tradesmen…

When an armament is being fitted before a sortie, be it a bomb,

or a rocket, or a missile,

that is completely handled by these tradesmen.

Which is why the badge that weapon fitters wear,

even that is red in colour,

because they are always engaged in dangerous work.

The aircraft will tell you beforehand, you know, something is going to happen.

I still can remember the date, 15th October, 1986.

Like, in MiG-21, you cannot see anything in front when the nose wheel is up.

I just heard a noise, a churning noise, from the engine.

Something has gone inside, which I have not seen it. Aircraft is accelerating,

I have gone to almost about 300 feet. Thought comes to my mind,

"Now you are on the ground. Why don't you stay in the ground

instead of go up and then come back, taking a chance?"

So I discontinued with the take-off, put the nose wheel down, applied brakes.

As speed came below 280, applied tail chute.

The tail chute cable snapped.

This is the time the whole of my life,

film has gone through to me from childhood to this thing.

I thought today is my last day.

I went into the barrier,

it took me just ten metres and stopped me there,

pushed it back…

opened canopy, disconnected all the things, jumped out.

First thing I did was pinch myself.

Is it paining or not?

Like in the cartoon they show it, when a crash takes place over there,

the aircraft is there and the soul was gone up.

So then I realised the soul is still there, it's not gone up.

Followed by, CO came, he went around the aircraft,

then he told me there's a vulture which has gone inside and it has got

two kilograms of meat lying in the jet pipe.

And these kind of incidents which take place are never told at home.

My friends told my wife.

Thereafter, there was a court of inquiry on me. I was blamed, not informing her.

But that she was told before the marriage.

That this is a part of life, sometimes tyre bursts.

Luckily, never ejected over there, and I am here in front of you,

73, going strong.

I had a ejection in 2008 in MiG-21 trainer aircraft.

I ejected with now Group Captain Supandeep Singh.

After their ejection, sir could not fly,

but they have become family to us. They're not even friends.

I can ask them anything or everything, I think.

As an outsider, you feel that once you have an accident,

then people will hesitate to go back to the aircraft.

But as I've heard, within the forces, it's always the opposite.

Once you have an accident, you have more confidence on the aircraft.

I was back in cockpit within next two months.

I myself flew 1,000 hours on a MiG, which is hell of a lot.

It was accident-free.

Now the squadron that was under me, we had only two accidents.

Both accidents over range bird hit.

In a single engine aircraft, you have a bird hit, what can you do?

But the best part of the story is,

when the bird hits took place, both the pilots ejected in time,

okay, ejection was safe, and they came back to flying.

You must consider yourself being a pessimistic optimist.

Pessimistic that you will be faced with a serious emergency

at a critical stage of flying.

An optimist that you have good amount of knowledge, that you've prepared yourself,

you'll be able to take the right action and handle the emergency

in a desired manner.

See this is a, you can say, incorrect statement

to say that the MiG-21 had a very bad safety record.

If you talk of statistics, I think 2.95 or something per 100,000 hours

is the safety record of the MiG-21, which is same as the MiG-23BN.

And it is lower than that of a MiG-27,

and lower than that of a Hunter and much lower,

it is close to six or something is the accident record of a Gnat.

So, MiG-21, comparatively, was a more reliable aircraft.

I think it will be unfair to the MiG-21, to the Indian Air Force,

and thousands of pilots who have flown MiG-21,

if we do not contest the image

which the media has projected about MiG-21,

calling MiG-21 as a flying coffin, calling MiG-21 as a widow maker.

I just want to ask them that when a car crashes on the highway,

even there, unfortunately people die.

But how many times do our TV channels criticise the car company?

So, this should not be said.

It becomes very demoralising for people.

It hurts when people make comments like that,

or when they say that it should be stopped.

In fact, two of my youngsters, they got the Chief's commendation

for landing the MiG-21 with hydraulic failure, main hydraulic failure.

So that is the kind of skills we used to develop and the time we used to devote.

To say that the aircraft was accident-prone,

no, it was not accident-prone.

I mean, you have to deeply understand an aircraft,

understand a machine before you make a statement.

As a MiG-21 pilot, I think that, you know,

you should take your chances of flying this aircraft.

The fact of the matter is,

if media was partially true in its projection of MiG-21,

then the Indian Air Force would have retired this aircraft long time back,

and would not have used this aircraft for more than six decades.

Indian Air Force, the first name is Indian,

and the tricolour stands out.

It is there in everybody's heart.

And that is how we want to show

that the MiG-21, with the tricolour on its airframe,

represents India for a long period of time.

Right from the top, the Chief of Air Staff has been personally involved in this.

He's been flying the MiG-21 so that he can bid the proper adieu

to this legend of the aircraft.

The very runway from which the first MiG-21 took off

is again where it will make its last landing.

So I will say that emotions are running high,

and we are bubbling with fervour, and my team is ready to host

all the veterans and officers who've been associated with this great machine.

All of the pilots including serving, veterans,

they all will be here

to bid goodbye to this beloved fighter of Indian Air Force,

and maybe for a fraction of a time in their life, relive those moments

where they were part of the squad.

It's a part of who we are.

It's just like a family member

that you meet daily, fly daily, see daily.

So it's just a part of us.

We warmly welcome our chief guest, India's Defence Minister,

Shri Rajnath Singh, on this historic occasion.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Here at Air Force Station Chandigarh,

a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests and their families

gathered here on this historic occasion.

Today, our MiG-21 fighter aircraft will be given a valorous farewell.

Displaying their unmatched skill in synchronisation, precise footwork

and weapon handling,

is the Indian Air Force's Air Warrior Drill Team.

Ladies and gentlemen, turn your attention to the skies.

May your applause be so thunderous

that it reaches those who are about to descend from the sky to meet you.

Right in front of your eyes, seven daredevil skydivers

of the Paratrooper Training School have jumped from 8,000 feet.

Squadron Leader Rajendra Singh Randhawa

has descended at a speed of 150 miles per hour!

Jai Hind!

So it's a very, very nostalgic moment for all of us.

We've never had an aircraft lasting this long till now.

First of all, it's a matter of pride for me

for being the last commanding officer of a MiG-21 unit.

So obviously, my last sortie in MiG-21 is going to be memorable.

There is an emotional quotient attached to it, where you think,

"I wish this aircraft would have been flying for some more time."

But of course, 62 years of service, she deserves a respectable farewell.

It'll be like saying goodbye to somebody I've been constantly seeing every day

for the past six years.

And I've seen this aircraft more than I've seen my parents.

I'll say my reaction will be bittersweet.

Bitter because I'll be missing the platform.

It's one of the best platforms to fly.

See, it is always difficult to say goodbye to your girlfriend.

And in these times, if you ask us,

we would love to continue flying this aircraft.

It is like clipping somebody's wings.

So yes, it is very sad to say goodbye

and we don't want to say goodbye,

but we have to.

It is indeed a privilege and it's a great feeling to be fortunate enough

to be the flight commander of the last MiG-21 squadron.

As I said earlier, not only in Indian Air Force but perhaps the world over.

So, flying it for the last time,

yes, it will have a certain baggage of emotions associated with it.

But yes, of course, during that last sortie,

we can't let those emotions come in the way.

We will do, we will fly that sortie the way it is to be flown.

And yes, after the landing,

we'll see and think about the emotions that come through.

It is going to be emotional ride, yes, of course.

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has arrived.

Three-aircraft Badal formation and four-aircraft Panther formation

are about to thunder into the sky for one last time,

yet for all time to remember.

Wind, variable.

Runway in use, two-nine.

Visibility, clear.

Please enjoy the approaching roar of our lion.

Badal and Panther formations now taking off in front of your eyes.

From the very runway ahead, seven proud Bisons will surge forward,

a symbol of a legacy that refuses to fade.

Ladies and gentlemen, shift your gaze towards your left

as MiG-21 approaches dais in classic Vic formation.

Leading this formation, moving at a cheetah's speed,

is Group Captain Mohit Gupta.

On his right and left are Air Commodore Amit Kumar Budhwar,

and Chief of the Air Staff himself.

Here is that thrilling sight, straight from the cockpit

of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team.

And now, the final formation,

exhibiting the history and bright future of the Indian Air Force.

Three-aircraft MiG-21 formation, flanked on both sides

by the indigenously-built Tejas fighter aircraft.

After more than six decades of serving and protecting the nation,

it is now time for this legendary aircraft to hand over its duty to its successor.

And that is the message this flypast will convey to you all today.

Roaring through the sky,

the MiG-21 passes over the dais for the final time.

Ladies and gents, keep your eyes and ears glued

as you are about to hear the last ever RT call from our Panther 1

as it returns to the homeland.

Panther 1, final three greens,

full flaps, full stop.

With the traditional water cannon salute,

we bid farewell to the MiG-21.

Ladies and gentlemen, brace up as this is our last salute.

When I touch down, maybe I'll just thank this aircraft

for, you know, keeping me safe for all these years that I've flown it.

Yeah.

And there they step out,

not just from a cockpit, but from a chapter of history.

These proud pilots carry with them the echoes

of every sortie, every mission and every heartbeat of the MiG-21.

The engines may be silent,

but the footsteps of these pilots resound louder than ever.

It is now time to formally hand over

to the Chief of the Air Staff, that document of the MiG-21

which has been filled in and signed by countless Indian Air Force warriors,

its very pages inscribed with the saga of their courage and valour.

Group Captain Amit Ranjan, Group Captain Nanda Rajender,

Senior Engineering Officer Wing Commander Banti Kumar Jha

and Warrant Officer Amit Kumar Arya will now hand over the Form 700.

With the handing over of this document, known as the Form 700,

the MiG-21 now passes out of active service

and joins the ranks of the Heritage Flight.

And with this, a glorious chapter of six decades comes to a close.

Our chief guest today and India's Defence Minister,

the honourable Shri Rajnath Singh, will now address the gathering.

Friends, we have all gathered today

for the MiG-21's final operational sortie.

Friends, on every historic mission,

the MiG-21 has always elevated the honour of the tricolour

Therefore, this is also a farewell to our collective memories,

to our national pride, and to this journey,

in which a story of courage, sacrifice and excellence has been written.

In closing, to all the pilots, technicians, ground staff,

and to all the engineers and other staff at HAL,

I extend my heartfelt salute.

Their hard work, dedication and courage

have made the MiG-21 a part of the Indian Air Force's very soul.

And here, the stroke of a historic signature.

A special postage stamp will be presented to India's Defence Minister,

Shri Rajnath Singh.

It is a hard feeling, but a new thing had to come in over there.

MiG-21, bye, till we meet.

It's part of me. It may physically not be here,

but then, it'll always be in some corner of my heart.

I would just tell MiG-21, till whenever we are breathing,

MiG-21, you will be part of our life.

The aircraft fades out but it lives in our hearts.

I'm sure there are enough memories, enough books will be written,

continue to be written on this aircraft and its exploits.

All I can say is this aircraft will live in our hearts forever.

Thank you. Jai Hind.

I would say MiG-21 is one aircraft which changes your soul.

It's a very emotional aircraft and I loved flying it.

I don't think so we are bidding farewell.

This particular entity is a giant.

Yes, it is symbolic. We have done whatever we have done.

But this aircraft brought with it a culture,

which we call as a fighter pilot attitude.

You don't just give up, you never give up.

That's a beautiful bird there. You know, they say silence speaks a million words.

For once, I'm actually at a loss of words when standing in front of

this beauty and the beast both rolled into one.

I can handle the most difficult situations.

That's what I learnt from this plane.

If it was a human, I would hug him and say,

"Thanks for teaching me this, thanks for letting me be what I am today."

To sit in cockpit of MiG-21

once again after nearly 26, 27 years,

my God, I still find each switch as if it's part of my dream

which I am doing every day, every night.

Thanks to the Air Force once again for making this possible for me.

Thank you. Jai Hind.