IAF flying 44-year-old MiG-21, criticizes Indian Air Chief Dhanoa

NEW DELHI: The warmongering can not get more evident from New Dehli in the wake of recent Kashmir crisis, whereas Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa is questioning his country that why India is still flying four-decades-old aircraft when no one drives even cars of that vintage.

“We are still flying MiG-21 which is 44 years old but nobody driving cars of that vintage,” Air Chief Dhanoa said at a seminar in New Delhi.

He pointed out that, “The fifth-generation fighters are a reality and the next generation fighters are already on the drawing board. Can we afford a victory with such losses? If there is no war, we cannot wait for indigenous technology to replace obsolete warfighting equipment.”

“Neither will it be prudent to import every defence equipment from abroad. Today, I can still fly the MiG-21 MF aircraft which is almost 44 years old. I’m sure none of you are driving a car of that vintage,” the Indian Air Chief added.

Often dubbed “flying coffins”, at least 170 MiGs have been lost in accidents over the past decade. The Russian-made MiG-21 joined the IAF in 1973-74.

“Over 95 per cent of components required for the overhauling are made in India. The Russians are not flying the MiGs but we are because we have overhauling facilities,” he added.

It is worth recalling that earlier in February, Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 was shot down by Pakistan Air Force during a dog fight between the two countries.