NDTV India’s Superb Docu On The IAF MiG-21

My friend and colleague on the defence beat Rajeev Ranjan put out this excellent, refreshingly fair documentary on the Indian Air Force MiG-21 yesterday. Must watch. It’s only in Hindi for now. I hope NDTV will put out an English version as well.

32 thoughts on “NDTV India’s Superb Docu On The IAF MiG-21”

  1. Fantastic… changed my perception..kudos to the men flying the beast and the men maintaining it to the flying condition. It should be an eye opener/strict message to our HAL/ADA teams to get the FOC and then mass production of LCA in as soon as practical mode… I hope they will put extra effort to operationalise our LCA….

    Over all two thumbs up to the NDTV team as it has full 19 mins of good content. Well done!!!

  2. What a documentary!!!!! I always know what these baby are…Deftly cant forget its contribution to the country…

  3. I don't understand how can someone attribute the air success in the last two wars to this aircraft??

    In 71' all major aerial engagements were fought by the Gnats and for ground strafing the Hunter reigned supreme. The Mig-21 was mostly kept in reserve as being a new aircraft in the inventory our pilots were relatively inexperienced in it's use.

    The Kargil war belonged to the Mirages in the ground target engagement role and the Mig-29s for the aerial engagement in case the PAF decided to take some shots at us. Again the Mig-21 was only used to engage ground targets with unguided rockets which had minimal effect as it is.

    In conclusion it's a useless aircraft.

  4. I just cant Wait to see, the LCA being inducted up in to the Airforce.
    It would be the Platform, which India needed to make a World Class Fighter.

  5. nice docu from NDTV as always been!!! But what is the cause for so many crashes? The a/c doesn't have any room for errors while landing and take off? At what instant most a/cs have crashed? soon after take off? while landing? during a sortie lasting 1/2 hour or more? Engine flame out? Hydraulic failure? or loss of control over a/c control surfaces due to hydraulic/mechanical failure? Electrical power failure?
    engine TTL exceeded? structural fatigue and finally pilot error due to lack training on AJT etc..?

  6. Why show hunters in old footage ? Also would have been better to show the names of the people they are interviewing ! Typical lack of attention to detail

    Always love the hindi documentaries. Love to see all speak hindi!

  7. i wish LCA tejas is out soon in place of Mig 21 .. . it has lived its time ,,, niw its time to say good bye ,,, i hope LCA MK1 has enough in it to equal 3 to 2 mig 21's … if they could put in as much in mig 21 then iy would be well better in LCA… agreed that ther is a lot to be done with LCA but in all ways it's ahead of Mig 21 since it allready has some stealth features and better radar and longer legs…

    Hope mig21's can be made into UCAVs so that we can launch enough missles at in commming enemy before our other planes go in and those launched missiles can be controlled by other planes

  8. Considering JF17 is a further improvement on Mig 21 (chinese version), can we expect to see same if not better performance from a JF17 compared to Mig 21?

    Any expert answer (without bias) would be appreciated. Thanks

  9. This documentary starts off like some bullshit communist country propaganda!

    It is ridiculous to call the MIG-21 a "behtereen" aircraft.

    This documentary is only for the gullible middle class of the Indian public who haven't seen a fighter aircraft up close, and who believe everything that the deceitful government tells it.

  10. In 1971 War the MiG-21 had clearly defeated the supposedly more Supreme F-104 Starfighters…….it was the first supersonic battle in the subcontinent and clearly the MiG-21 won hands down…

    It is the 3rd best aircraft in the world and has produced many Combat Aces……..so whoever says it's a bad aircraft….u clearly are mistaken….!!!!

  11. A very well made documentary. Providing a balanced picture, explaining the rationale for maintaining the fleet after 50 years. In simple terms, if we had options we would change it but since it is a potent weapon in sufficient quantities, we cannot afford to let go of it until a replacement is available.

    Please guys, give credit to the air and ground crew which operate this weapon system. It fulfills a non-negligible role in the defence of the country.

    Jai Hind!

  12. Mig-21s are now old lions, but during their heydays they were horrors to the intruders in their own ways. They are a legend in themselves without requiring any certificates.

    It is best that they have to be replaced by none else but SU30MKI in air superiority role, since MMRCA and Tejas both are taking their own time.

  13. Very good report. But still blaming our pilots for accidents what a shame ya mig-21 is a great aircraft but it's problems are well known.

  14. @anonymous 1:36pm..
    Mig-21 took part in the '71 war to a great extent..MIG-21 from number 20Sqn disabled the tezgaon and kurmitola airfield with pin point bombing…!!
    the article is on the net..and get awed by the marvelous planning of our Pilots.

  15. Atlast someone paid tribute to the good old MIG21 – I enjoyed the fact that an attempt has been made to speak in Hindi (Or any Indian language for that matter). Shame that even this attempt showed the reliance on use of foreign words (non Hindi words). Nations like Japan, China, Germany, Russia can function fully in their own national languages – why is India so inadequate or backward in this arena?

  16. AIR CAMPING IS NUMBER ONE FORMULA TO
    DEFEAT THE ENEMY.GOOD WISHES TO OUR
    THE GREAT MACHINERY AND BRAVE PILOTS.
    I AM VERY SORRY ANY IGNORANT SAYS
    THIS IS BULLSHIT.BECAUSE OF THESE IGNORANT PEOPLE INDIA WAS SLAVE MORE THAN DECADE CENTURIES.THANKS AGAIN TO
    OUR DEFIANCE HEROES.GOD BLESS THEM AND INDIA.
    we help others and ourselves
    with integrity and positive regards.
    sher singh grewal
    http://www.nripedia.org
    nripediaorg
    or
    http://www.prayer7.com

  17. The Mig-21 WAS a great aircraft. Note: "WAS." It is NOTHING TODAY. Note: "NOTHING TODAY."

    The country can't keep living in the past. While it doesn't hurt to reminisce, the way this documentary has been put out is that the Mig-21 is a great aircraft TODAY. And that is just plain wrong.

  18. The video shows some shots of the Hunter FGA Mk.9, which were pounding the Pakistani tanks. They were clearly not MIG-21s. During the '71 war the MIG-21s (basic type 77s) were mainly used as fighter escorts for Sukhoi-7 (S-22) and even Mystere-IV A G/A fighters (in an air defence role)and had a limited role for ground attacks. They were mainly armed with two air to air H/S missiles for the A/D role and an underslung ventral single cannon and two under-wing rocket pods for attacking light ground targets.

  19. Very informative documentary.

    However, one major caveat – and I am sure I am not carping.

    The vocabulary of the commentator is exclusively Urdu – Hindustani. Why can't the fellow use normal Hindi words that have Sanskrit roots ? At times, he sounds suspiciously like a ranting Paki, only because of the words he uses. Indian media should reflect.

  20. Very informative documentary. Some footage may be irrelevant, e.g. Hunters in the 65 and 71 ops. These are minor issues, since the rest of the clip is most interesting.

    However, one major caveat. I am sure I am not carping.

    The commentator goes overboard with his Persian – Urdu vocabulary. Why doesn't he use normal Hindi words that are more genuine and relevant ? It seems that Indian electronic media bends over backwards to pander to "Hindustani", rather than Hindi. At times, the commentator sounds like a ranting Paki.

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