At Gagan Shakti 2024, MiG-21s take part in their last major drills
The MiG-21, India’s first supersonic fighter whose induction began in 1963, will be pulled out of service by 2025
New Delhi: The last of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) MiG-21 fighter planes are taking part in the ongoing pan-India exercise, Gagan Shakti-2024, which seeks to showcase IAF’s capability to carry out high-tempo operations and involves all air bases and assets scattered across the country, officials familiar with the development said on Thursday.

The drills began on April 1 and are being carried out in a realistic environment till April 10. This is the last major exercise that the MiG-21 Bisons are participating in ahead of their upcoming retirement, the officials said asking not to be named.
The MiG-21, India’s first supersonic fighter whose induction began in 1963, will be pulled out of service by 2025, as previously reported by Hindustan Times.
IAF currently operates only two MiG-21 squadrons — the No.3 or Cobras at Nal near Bikaner and No.23 or Panthers at Suratgarh, both in Rajasthan. A squadron consists of 16 to 18 fighter jets. Both squadrons operate the MiG-21 Bison, the last variant of the single-engine workhorse.
IAF has operated a raft of MiG-21 variants — Type 74 or MiG 21F, Type 76 or MiG 21PF, Type 77 or MiG 21FL, Type 96 or MiG 21M, Type 75 or MiG 21 Bis (upgraded Type 96) and the MiG-21 Bison.
“As part of the ongoing exercise Gagan Shakti-24, IAF aircraft recently operated from the Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) in the northern sector in Kashmir valley. A large number of troops were airlifted and subsequently, air landed utilising Chinook, Mi-17 V5 and ALH Mk-III helicopters by night,” IAF said in its first statement on the ongoing drills.
IAF plans to practice similar drills in coordination with different state governments for the activation of ELFs in other sectors too, it said.
“The capability to operate by night at these stretches of highways, and the capability to transfer troops from such surfaces will greatly enhance the operational capabilities of Indian armed forces,” the statement added.
Gagan Shakti was last held in 2018 when IAF clocked more than 11,000 sorties during the two-phase air manoeuvres that saw the concentration of the air force’s deployed assets move from the western sector to the eastern front in less than 48 hours.
It sought to test IAF’s readiness for a two-front war with China and Pakistan. From deep strikes to air dominance and maritime operations to air defence, the IAF practised every manoeuvre in the book in its preparation for a short and intense war.
The latest drills follow Exercise Vayu Shakti-24, conducted on February 17 at the Pokhran air-to-ground range near Jaisalmer. That exercise saw IAF deploy its frontline assets, including Rafale fighter jets, Mirage-2000s, Sukhoi-30 MKIs, Tejas light combat aircraft, Jaguars, Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, Apache attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-air missile systems.
APACHE DAMAGED IN LADAKH
An Apache attack helicopter of IAF was damaged on Wednesday after it carried out a precautionary landing in the Ladakh sector, the air force said on Thursday. The two pilots of the US-origin helicopter are safe.
“During the landing, it sustained damage due to undulating terrain and high altitude,” the IAF said in a statement. A court of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause. The helicopter was on an operational training sortie.
India placed orders worth $3.1 billion for 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers for IAF in 2015.
IAF has inducted all the Boeing-made helicopters, and both platforms have operated extensively in Ladakh amid the ongoing military standoff with China along the contested Line of Actual Control.
