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Indian Air Force loses another MiG-21 fighter
Quote:
Indian Air Force loses another MiG-21 fighter
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
27 May 2014
Indian army soldiers inspect the wreckage of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 aircraft that crashed in a field near Marhama village some 45 km south of Srinagar, India, on 27 May. According to news reports the pilot was killed in the crash. Source: AP Photo
An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 'Fishbed' combat aircraft crashed during a routine training sortie on 27 May, killing the pilot.
The single-seat fighter came down in a sparsely populated area of the country's South Kashmir region. The pilot failed to eject and was killed.
The cause of the accident was not known at the time of writing, and the Indian authorities have launched an investigation.
As the IAF has lost about half its 900-strong MiG-21 fleet since the type entered service in the early 1970s, the Soviet-era fighter has earned the unfortunate moniker of 'the flying coffin' in the Indian media.
Indeed, in an air force where the loss of aircraft and pilots often appears to be little more than an occupational hazard, the MiG-21's loss rate has become so acute that only the IAF's most experienced pilots are now allowed to fly the type. In 2013 an IAF pilot who had survived a MiG-21 crash in 2005 actually sued the Indian government for violating his "fundamental right to life".
The IAF is currently due to retire most of its MiG-21s in 2017, with the rest to follow by 2019. However, a contract with Dassault is still unsigned more than two years after the Rafale was selected to fulfil the IAF's Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft requirement, so there is a fair chance the MiG-21's service life might yet be extended even further.
(233 words)
IHS Janes
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
27 May 2014
Quote:
Indian army soldiers inspect the wreckage of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 aircraft that crashed in a field near Marhama village some 45 km south of Srinagar, India, on 27 May. According to news reports the pilot was killed in the crash. Source: AP Photo
An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 'Fishbed' combat aircraft crashed during a routine training sortie on 27 May, killing the pilot.
The single-seat fighter came down in a sparsely populated area of the country's South Kashmir region. The pilot failed to eject and was killed.
The cause of the accident was not known at the time of writing, and the Indian authorities have launched an investigation.
As the IAF has lost about half its 900-strong MiG-21 fleet since the type entered service in the early 1970s, the Soviet-era fighter has earned the unfortunate moniker of 'the flying coffin' in the Indian media.
Indeed, in an air force where the loss of aircraft and pilots often appears to be little more than an occupational hazard, the MiG-21's loss rate has become so acute that only the IAF's most experienced pilots are now allowed to fly the type. In 2013 an IAF pilot who had survived a MiG-21 crash in 2005 actually sued the Indian government for violating his "fundamental right to life".
The IAF is currently due to retire most of its MiG-21s in 2017, with the rest to follow by 2019. However, a contract with Dassault is still unsigned more than two years after the Rafale was selected to fulfil the IAF's Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft requirement, so there is a fair chance the MiG-21's service life might yet be extended even further.
(233 words)
IHS Janes
RIP, seharusnya memang ini Mig-21 jadul dipensiunkan saja. Tapi mengingat target jumlah operasional skuadron fighter India yang belum pernah tercapai sejak tahun 1988, akan sangat sulit untuk melepas asset platform mereka sebelum mendapatkan unit yang baru. Apalagi ini penting untuk menjaga keseimbangan regional di kawasan Asia Selatan.
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