India
In 1961, the Indian Air Force (IAF) opted to purchase the MiG-21 over several other Western competitors because the Soviet Union offered India full transfer of technology and rights for local assembly. In 1964, the MiG-21 became the first supersonic fighter jet to enter service with the IAF. Due to limited induction numbers and lack of pilot training, the IAF MiG-21 played a limited role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.[4] However, the IAF gained valuable experience while operating the MiG-21 for defensive sorties during the war.[4] The positive feedback from IAF pilots during the 1965 war prompted India to place more orders for the fighter jet and also invest heavily in building the MiG-21's maintenance infrastructure and pilot training programs. By 1969, India had acquired more than 120 MiG-21s from the Soviet Union.
Safety record
The safety record of the IAF's MiG-21s has raised concern in the Indian Parliament and media, leading to the aircraft sometimes being referred to in the IAF as a "flying coffin". One source estimates that in the nine years from 1993 to 2002, the IAF lost over 100 pilots in 283 accidents. During its service life, the IAF has lost at least 116 aircraft to crashes (not including those lost in combat), with 81 of those occurring since 1990. Fuel-line leaks were identified as a major cause of such crashes in the aging Mig-21s in IAF. The fuel-lines were replaced/ repaired for the Mig-21s and crashes have been reduced drastically since late 2009. After more than a year, the first Mig-21 Bison crashed due to engine damage in Feb 2011 ,the second one a type-96 Mig-21 on 2 August 2011 killing the pilot also during a landing exercise and the third one on 6 September 2011 near Rajpura in Punjab. A MiG-21 combat aircraft of the IAF on Friday October 7th, 2011 crashed near Uttarlai airport in Rajasthan's Barmer district but the pilot ejected safely.
