The famous MiG-21 will formally retire after more than 60 years of service with the Indian Air Force (IAF). On September 26, the last goodbye will take place at the Chandigarh Air Force Station, where the plane was first brought into service. This incident will end an important time in India’s military aviation history.
The last MiG-21 jets belong to Number 23 Squadron, also known as the “Panthers.” They will say goodbye with a ceremonial flypast and a decommissioning event. On Friday, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh will be in charge of the squadron’s last mission, which will be called “Badal 3.”
Squadron Leader Priya Sharma: A Trailblazer in the Sky
Squadron Leader Priya Sharma is one of the pilots who will be flying in the ceremonial flypast. She will be a big part of this historic event. Sharma is the eighth woman fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. She graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2018. She joined the Air Force like her father did, and she is from the Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan.
Sharma was the only woman fighter pilot in her group. She started out at Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad and then moved to Karnataka for more advanced training. She says her love of flying comes from when she was a child and observed Jaguars and Hawk planes while her father was stationed at Bidar. She created history in August when she flew in formation during the IAF Chief’s MiG-21 farewell missions at Nal Air Force Station in Bikaner. This solidified her place in the legacy of this famous plane.
The Big Goodbye Ceremony
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will be at the departure ceremony, which will include an impressive display of air power and military history. The IAF’s finest skydiving team, “Akash Ganga,” will jump from 8,000 feet to start the event. The MiG-21 planes will then fly over in a grand show, with the Air Warrior Drill Team.
The three-aircraft “Badal” formation and the four-aircraft “Panther” formation will soar over the skies one last time. The Surya Kiran aerobatic team will also put on an amazing show. A commemorative stamp will be issued to mark the momentous retirement. The MiG-21 was very important in India’s conflicts in 1965 and 1971, the Kargil War in 1999, and the Balakot airstrikes in 2019. Its deactivation symbolizes the end of an era for the Indian Air Force.