India Air Force's MiG Aircraft problem is not new, India made a complete movie named Rang Day Basanti on this topic of obsolete, problematic and controversial Russian MiG Fighter Jets killing Indian pilots. Yet they are jeopardizing the lives of pilots who are always mentally prepared to eject from the cockpit. and the interesting part is they still have almost hundreds of them.
Mikoyan-Gurevich-21 or MiG 21 was India’s first supersonic jet fighter aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1955. It is considered a second-generation jet fighter, which was first inducted in the IAF in 1963. MiG 21 was the IAF’s backbone, playing a stellar role in the 1971 war against Pakistan. It was also used in 1999 during the Kargil War, where one IAF MiG 21 was shot down by ground fire. However, after capably serving the airforce for three decades, the 1,200-strong MiG 21 fleet increasingly showed signs of wear and tear. The IAF was forced to continue using this outdated warhorse, eventually leading to numerous accidents.
According to answers given by various defence ministers in the Parliament, 177 air crashes took place in the IAF during the 1990-2001 period, out of which, the MiG 21s were the biggest casualty with 66 crashes. A high-power committee on Fighter Aircraft Accidents headed by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, went into the issue and submitted a report in 1997.
In the last three years, the IAF lost 29 fighter planes in crashes including 12 MiG 21s, in which six pilots lost their lives. Since 1970, around 170 Indian Air Force pilots have been killed in MiG 21 accidents, which also resulted in the deaths of 40 civilians. While the IAF officially claims that pilot error was the major cause, internal reports conclude most of the crashes were caused by technical defects and engine flame-outs — strengthening fears that India’s MiG fleet may have outlived its service life.
MiG 21 accident | Indian Express
Our great Indian media, which creates a ruckus on every trivial issue, has managed to play it safe on controversies involving our armed forces. On the contrary, Bollywood, which generally avoids portraying any major social-political issue, took up the cause of IAF pilots who have lost their lives. Renowned director Rakeysh Mehra assembled an eclectic panel of actors led by Aamir Khan to produce a masterpiece named “Rang De Basanti”.
The story raises the issue of frequent MiG 21 crashes that had led to the death of many young pilots and the alleged collusion of politicians in murky arms deals. Incidentally, the filmmakers took no help from the IAF to make the film and they visualized the MiG 21 crash scene through computer graphics. The virtual aircraft they created was so realistic that the IAF called them to check whether the producer had the permission to use an actual MiG 21!
"Rang De Basanti received its world premiere on 26 January 2006, with high expectations that it would be a success with western audiences, though it also faced ire from several organisations because of certain controversial scenes. The film contained scenes of a MiG-21, a controversial aircraft in the Indian Air Force, which has a long history of fatal accidents in India. Promptly, the Indian Defence Ministry raised concerns, causing the Indian censor board to urge the filmmakers to seek clearance from the ministry." Wiki
http://www.caleidoscope.in/caleidoscope-blog/remember-mig-21-remember-rang-de-basanti
Mikoyan-Gurevich-21 or MiG 21 was India’s first supersonic jet fighter aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1955. It is considered a second-generation jet fighter, which was first inducted in the IAF in 1963. MiG 21 was the IAF’s backbone, playing a stellar role in the 1971 war against Pakistan. It was also used in 1999 during the Kargil War, where one IAF MiG 21 was shot down by ground fire. However, after capably serving the airforce for three decades, the 1,200-strong MiG 21 fleet increasingly showed signs of wear and tear. The IAF was forced to continue using this outdated warhorse, eventually leading to numerous accidents.
According to answers given by various defence ministers in the Parliament, 177 air crashes took place in the IAF during the 1990-2001 period, out of which, the MiG 21s were the biggest casualty with 66 crashes. A high-power committee on Fighter Aircraft Accidents headed by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, went into the issue and submitted a report in 1997.
In the last three years, the IAF lost 29 fighter planes in crashes including 12 MiG 21s, in which six pilots lost their lives. Since 1970, around 170 Indian Air Force pilots have been killed in MiG 21 accidents, which also resulted in the deaths of 40 civilians. While the IAF officially claims that pilot error was the major cause, internal reports conclude most of the crashes were caused by technical defects and engine flame-outs — strengthening fears that India’s MiG fleet may have outlived its service life.
MiG 21 accident | Indian Express
Our great Indian media, which creates a ruckus on every trivial issue, has managed to play it safe on controversies involving our armed forces. On the contrary, Bollywood, which generally avoids portraying any major social-political issue, took up the cause of IAF pilots who have lost their lives. Renowned director Rakeysh Mehra assembled an eclectic panel of actors led by Aamir Khan to produce a masterpiece named “Rang De Basanti”.
The story raises the issue of frequent MiG 21 crashes that had led to the death of many young pilots and the alleged collusion of politicians in murky arms deals. Incidentally, the filmmakers took no help from the IAF to make the film and they visualized the MiG 21 crash scene through computer graphics. The virtual aircraft they created was so realistic that the IAF called them to check whether the producer had the permission to use an actual MiG 21!
"Rang De Basanti received its world premiere on 26 January 2006, with high expectations that it would be a success with western audiences, though it also faced ire from several organisations because of certain controversial scenes. The film contained scenes of a MiG-21, a controversial aircraft in the Indian Air Force, which has a long history of fatal accidents in India. Promptly, the Indian Defence Ministry raised concerns, causing the Indian censor board to urge the filmmakers to seek clearance from the ministry." Wiki
http://www.caleidoscope.in/caleidoscope-blog/remember-mig-21-remember-rang-de-basanti
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