The Indian Air Force on Friday retired its famed Soviet-designed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jets after 62 years of service.

The aircraft, primarily designed to intercept and shoot down attacking enemy jets, quickly became the mainstay of the Air Force, even conducting ground-attack missions.

Over the decades, the IAF inducted more than 850 MiG-21s of several variants. Many of them were licence-built in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Some variants were gradually withdrawn over the years. The last type to retire was the upgraded Bison.

During the 1971 war, the MiG-21s bombed critical sites in East Pakistan and hastened the Pakistani military’s surrender. During the 1999 Kargil war, they were deployed to conduct air patrols and reconnaissance .

In 201

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