Shillong: The indigenously developed light combat aircraft 'Tejas' would officially replace the MiG-21 FL fighter jet, Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said on Thursday.
"One major phase has passed over and now we look toward the new induction into the force. The LCA will replace the MiG-21," Browne told reporters at the headquarter of Eastern Air Command here.
"We will get 40 aircraft and that will be the Mark-I type. Tejas will be battle ready by end of 2014," he said.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony would officially hand over initiation of acceptance of the Tejas into the force at its birthplace in Bangalore on December 20, the IAF Chief said.
Browne, accompanied by his wife Kiran, was here on a two-day farewell visit and also attended a Commanders' Conference of the Eastern Air Command.
According to Browne, works are on for developing Mark-II type 'Tejas' with improvement in radar system and other add-ons and it will be inducted into the force at a later stage.
Asked on air defence scenario in the Northeast region, Browne said, "North East area is important to us. We have plans for induction of radars for the hilly terrain. We have a series of systems that ensure that the air defence is impregnable."
He said one squadron of Sukhoi would be based in Tezpur by next year, adding that the latest squadron was being formed at Sirsa in Punjab.
On the MiG-21 FL which was phased out after 50-years of service, at a function at Kalaikunda Air base in West Bengal on Wednesday, Browne said, "It's been a memorable moment for the Air Force and also a watershed moment as the aircraft which trained all the fighter pilots including myself and generations of pilots."
"It has done its job. It has done well," he added.
Next - Flying MiG-21 FL is like being closer to heaven: IAF pilot
Flying MiG-21 FL is like being closer to heaven: IAF pilot
Kalaikunda (WB): The youngest Indian Air Force pilot to have flown the MiG-21 FL fighter jet, which phased out after a glorious 50-year service, said flying the 'dream machine' felt like he was closer to heaven.
"I am feeling proud. I still want to fly the aircraft," 27-year-old Flight Lieutenant L. Nagarajan said after the phasing out ceremony of MiG-21 type 77 in the presence of Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Chief of Air Staff on Wednesday.
In a touching ceremony after a flypast by a formation of four MiG-21 FL in its last sortie on Wednesday, Nagarajan handed over form 700 (document log of an aircraft) of the iconic delta-wing fighter aircraft to the Air Chief, symbolically drawing curtains on one of the most enduring saga in IAF aviation history.
Asked how it felt to be the youngest pilot to fly the MiG-21 FL and handing over the log to the senior-most pilot in the force at present to have flown the aircraft, he said, "the feeling was great. I can't explain. Its a great privilege."
A total of 15 aircraft of this MiG variant were functional in the IAF and all of these were based at Kalaikunda, an official source said. "I feel very happy. Every time I am flying a MiG-21, I am closer to heaven," Nagarajan said, adding, "Once you are in the aircraft, you feel no one can touch you."
Pointing out that the sobriquet 'Flying Coffin' alluded to these MiG-21s, a number of which have been destroyed in accidents over the years, was a misnomer, he said, "There is nothing that this aircraft is dangerous. It is the same like any other aircraft."
Wing Commander Manav Kumaria, one of the pilots who flew the last sortie of the fighter aircraft that heralded the 'supersonic era' in IAF, said "it is a momentous occasion. We have been practising for it."
Asked how he would rate the fighter jet, which dealt severe blows to Pakistan Air Force in the 1971 war, Kumaria said, "It is a beautiful aircraft. It is a beautiful machine."
"MiG 21 FL is one of the best machines to fly," Kumaria opined, which was echoed by other three wing commanders who flew the last sortie alongwith him. Regarding the terming of the aircraft as 'Flying Coffin', he said "if you consider the statistics, it is not right."
"I flew this aircraft for the first time in 1998. It has been ok," Kumaria said.
Bidding adieu to the machine, Air Marshall Browne said, "I have the greatest professional regard for MiG-21. The agility of MiG-21 cannot be matched by any of the present day fighters."
"It is no wonder, therefore, that five generations of our combat pilots including myself, who have cut teeth on this veritable fighter swear by its unmatched combat prowess," he said.
"As a matter of fact, around 80 per cent of the currently serving fighter aircrew in the IAF have flown the T-77 aircraft and 90 per cent have flown one of the MiG variants at some time or the other in their flying career," the Air chief said.
