Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21SP 47 Soviet Air ForceMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21SP 47 Soviet Air Force

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.

  • Role: Fighter
  • National origin: Sovjet Union
  • Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
  • First flight: 14 February 1956 (Ye-2)
  • Introduction: 1959 (MiG-21F)
  • Status: In service
  • Produced: 1959 (MiG-21F) to 1985 (MiG-21bis)
  • Number built: 11,496, (10,645 produced in the USSR, 657 in India, 194 in Czechoslovakia)
  • Variants: Chengdu J-7

Operators

  • National Air Force of Angola
  • Azerbaijani Air Forces
  • Bulgarian Air Force
  • Croatian Air Force
  • Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force
  • Egyptian Air Force
  • Ethiopian Air Force
  • Guinea Air Force
  • Indian Air Force
  • Lao People’s Liberation Army Air Force
  • Libyan Air Force
  • Mali Air Force
  • Mozambique Air Force
  • Korean People’s Air Force (North Korea)
  • Romanian Air Force
  • Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
  • Sudanese Air Force
  • Syrian Arab Air Force
  • Tanzanian Air Force
  • Ugandan Air Force
  • Vietnam People’s Air Force
  • Yemeni Air Force
  • Zambian Air Force

Former operators

  • Afghan Air Force
  • Algerian Air Force
  • Bangladeshi Air Force
  • Belarusian Air Force
  • Burkina Faso Air Force
  • Royal Cambodian Air Force
  • Chadian Air Force
  • China
  • Congolese Air Force
  • Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Czech Air Force
  • Air Forces of the National People’s Army (East Germany)
  • Eritrean Air Force
  • Finnish Air Force
  • Luftwaffe
  • Georgian Air Force
  • Guinea-Bissau Air Force
  • Hungarian Air Force
  • Indonesian Air Force
  • Iranian Air Force
  • Iraqi Air Force
  • Krygyzstan Air and Air Defence Force
  • Mongolian Air Force
  • Madagascar Air Force
  • Namibian Air Force
  • Nigerian Air Force
  • Polish Air Force
  • Polish Naval Aviation
  • Russian Air Force
  • Slovak Air Force
  • Somali Air Force
  • Soviet Air Force
  • Soviet Air Defence Force
  • Soviet Naval Aviation
  • Turkmen Air Force
  • United States – Retired from United States Air Force after evaluation flights and aggressor squadron duty
  • Ukrainian Air Force
  • Yugoslav Air Force
  • Zaire

Civilian operators

According to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there are currently 44 privately owned MiG-21s in the U.S

Specifications (MiG-21-93)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 14.5 (with pitot) m (47 ft 6.86 in)
  • Wingspan: 7.154 m (23 ft 5.66 in)
  • Height: 4.125 m (13 ft 6.41 in)
  • Wing area: 23.0 m2 (247.3 ft2)
  • Gross weight: 8,825 kg (19,425 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Tumansky R25-300, 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) thrust dry, 69.62 kN (15,650 lbf) with afterburner each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 2,175 km/h (1351.48 mph)
  • Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
  • Range: (internal fuel) 1,210 km (751 miles)
  • Service ceiling: 17,800 m (58,400 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 225 m/s (44,280 ft/min)

Armament

  • 1x internal 23 mm GSh-23 cannon, plus
  • 2x R-27R1 or R-27T or 4x Vympel R-77

or 4x R-60M or R-73E AAM or

  • 2x 500 kg (1,102 lbs) bombs