INDIAN MARSHAL CALLS MIG 21 “INVINCIBLE AND EXCELLENT”

Marshal Yaswant A. Tipnis, Indian Air Force’s Chief of Staff, piloted on Monday a Russian MiG 21 fighter in order “to put an end to talks of this aircraft’s alleged unreliability,” RIA Novosti news agency reports. After landing, Mr. Tipnis told journalists that MiG –21 “stayed, as before, an invincible and excellent aircraft.” Earlier on Monday, information emerged in the Indian press that the country’s Air Forces had over the last 5 years lost 84 fighter aircrafts as a result of crashes, 60 of them being MiG 21s. At that, 34 pilots had died. However, experts believe that those crashes were largely Indian pilots’ faults. The point is that there are no trainer jet aircrafts in India, so MiG 21 has sometimes been used to train novices. In the meantime, licensed production of MiG 21s is now ended at a plant in Nasik, and the plant is being revamped to produce miltipurpose Su 30MKI fighters. Besides, purchasing British Hawk aircrafts is being considered.