Timeline MiG-21

The most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in history, with more than 11,000 built and flown by some sixty air forces on four continents.

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Dashed left edge = started before this timeline · Dashed right edge = still ongoing

MiG-21 12

1955 MiG-21 prototypes first fly Ye-2 and Ye-4 The first MiG-21 prototypes fly, testing swept and delta wings. The delta wing wins, giving the fighter its distinctive shape.
1959 MiG-21 enters Soviet service A light Mach 2 interceptor The MiG-21F enters service — a light, simple Mach 2 interceptor that becomes the most-produced supersonic jet in history.
1963 India inducts the MiG-21 Start of a 62-year career The first MiG-21s arrive in India, which goes on to build them under licence and fly them longer than any other major operator.
1966 Chengdu J-7 first flight China's MiG-21 China's licence-derived copy of the MiG-21, the J-7, flies for the first time. It stays in production for decades.
1966 MiG-21s join the air war over Vietnam North Vietnamese Air Force North Vietnam's MiG-21s begin engaging US aircraft, using ground-controlled hit-and-run attacks against American strike formations.
1966 Munir Redfa defects with a MiG-21 Operation Diamond Iraqi pilot Munir Redfa flies his MiG-21 to Israel in a Mossad operation, handing the West its first close look at the fighter.
1967 Operation Bolo Robin Olds' MiG trap USAF F-4s led by Colonel Robin Olds pose as bomb-laden F-105s, lure North Vietnamese MiG-21s into combat and shoot down seven of them without loss.
1967 Operation Focus Six-Day War Israeli strikes destroy most of Egypt's air force, including its MiG-21s, on the ground in the opening hours of the Six-Day War.
1977 – 1988 Constant Peg Secret US MiG squadron At Tonopah in Nevada, a secret US Air Force unit flies acquired MiG-21s and MiG-17s so American pilots can train against the real thing.
2019 MiG-21 shot down over Kashmir Abhinandan Varthaman Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's MiG-21 Bison is shot down during an air battle with Pakistani F-16s. He is captured and released two days later. India claims an F-16, which Pakistan denies.
2023 Romania retires its MiG-21s MiG-21 LanceR Romania retires its upgraded MiG-21 LanceRs, among the last MiG-21s flown by a NATO member.
2025 India retires the MiG-21 After more than six decades The Indian Air Force, long the type's largest foreign operator, flies its last MiG-21s after more than 60 years of service.