ACM BS Dhanoa Interview: Ex-IAF Chief Talks About MiG-21s Crash History, Politics & The Future Plan

In a major step to ensure flight safety, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will retire 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base comprising the MiG-21 Bison aircraft by September 30 this year. The 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base is being number plated on September 30, sources told India Today TV.
#mig21 #mig21crash #bsdhanoa
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[@abba3629]

Air Chief Marshal: We don't have Aircrafts, therefore we can't retire these. (Mig-21). "Show me a Car on the road as old as Mig-21." Brutal and Honest Assessment by Air Chief Marshall.

[@abba3629]

@@sachin4451 You missed the essence of Air Chief Marshall's Point. See this Video again.

[@amitjaiswar85]

All people chatting from from foreign made Phones and Laptops are giving lecture on Indigenious. People who can’t even boycott Chinese products as they cheaper are talking about national defence.

[@amitjaiswar85]

@Om ok good for you buddy. IAF need good fighters as we don’t have 42 squadron strength. Even if IAF orders 10 squadrons of Tejas mk1a still we will be short by 10 squadrons. I am just saying people asking Govt. to buy half Indian and half foreign origin Jets are not anti national…

[@akhil999in]

@@amitjaiswar85 not me. spent time trying to find non Chinese, finally got this samsung. asked them specifically twice before deciding. centuries of servitude has made it easy for us to bend.

[@akhil999in]

@@amitjaiswar85 does anyone know the secret of the magic number 42 ? is such precision really possible in military science ?

[@drrahulgogoimaxillofacialp3447]

I love that fact that our former chief is so honest and straightforward…. Hallmark of an honest man

[@alphasubscription6741]

‘You don’t know when the next crisis happen because you don’t want to be fighting an F16 with a Bison’ great words by Air Chief. Clearly there was a mismatch on 27 feb 2019 which is why India suffered damage. We should be bold to admit the truth and must work to improve our fighter fleet. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@visible3857]

India suffered damage after damaging enemy's intentions... Destroying f16 with bison is not easy.. The brain behind machine makes the difference...

[@alphasubscription6741]

@@visible3857 again, assumptions not backed by evidence. One wouldn’t fall into the partisan information trap fed for self satisfaction. The only evidence backed fact is that Abhinandan was hit by an enemy aircraft because he was in an inferior aircraft with no counter electronic radar jamming pod.

[@visible3857]

@@alphasubscription6741 that's true..but you have to appreciate the ability of abhinandan to save us from embarrassment if he didn't shot down f16 that day...

[@sahilpooja]

@@alphasubscription6741 it is backed with evidence that f16 was shot by mig 21. Even china and pakistan uses variant of mig21 called j7 in their air force so don't just blame iaf

[@alphasubscription6741]

@@visible3857 there is no evidence to comfirm that assumption. This is the same mindset which is killing iaf pilots daily. Accept the truth, accept that mig is inferior, accept that it needs replacing, accept that it was Mig that was shot down by the F-16 on the day, accept that it is an outdated platform only to be put in a museum.

[@sumanghosh5674]

There is no difference between UPA & NDA govt.. New technology wala luxurious Airbus is coming for Modi but the respected Air marshal are compelled to fly in Mig21. Shame !!!

[@kalukutta]

😂

[@qcube._.8342]

exactly... they will buy a dozen rafel to parade on 15 aug but cant produce new gen fighter planes.. our air force is in dier need of new planes and the politicians are busy with their own propoganda.

[@satyam.shankar]

It's not Modi ji's fault and to be fair to UPA it's not even their fault to some extent. The Tejas Mark 1 had proved itself as a superior alternative to Mig 21 in 2009 itself. If Indian Airforce gave orders for Tejas in 2009 itself, Today in 2022 all Mig -21 would have been replaced by Tejas Mark-1 & Mark 1A. And the Tejas Mark -2 would have been fully developed and waiting for orders right now. So as far as Mig 21 mishap is concerned, the Indian Air Force can't point fingers at others in 2022.

[@akshittaneja3464]

The Mig 21 does not have engine Fedec control, fly by wire and most importantly a zero - zero ejection seat. The zero zero ejection seat does not depend on a certain altitude and speed for ejection which sadly can’t be done in a MiG 21. In a Mig21 the pilot needs to be a certain altitude and speed for ejection. Shiv you must ask this question to the guests

[@mig29baaz]

Zero zero is ..zero altitude and zero speed. If the mig 21trainer which crashed is flying, then certainly your zero zero theory goes out of the cockpit. As Air chief said its a highly demanding aircraft so most likely it looks like pilot error. Also, he mentioned that it was a serviceable aircraft which means it was fit to fly.

[@indiandefensearena905]

Zero zero ejection seat is helpful only in scenario where jet is on runway. KM1 ejection seats are Russian standard used in migs and they are not the worst compared to Martin Baker. Issue is mig21 is not forgivable fighter jets they are very fast unlike tajes, jf17 ets morden fighters which can max fly at 1.5mach, mig 21 can catch up to 2mach so it's equally uncontrollable at low altitude and recovery is very tuf compared to morden jet which can fly at low speed easily.

[@sarthakkanwar]

For some reasons, this old school thought from our ACM is not going away....sir MIGs have retired in the 80s when I was 2 years old by its manufacturer. I am 38 years old now. India has lost 400 pilots in its MIGs and there has not been a single air crash in Tejas. No other aircraft in entire world has a zaero crash history during trial stages. Why was there hesitancy in inducting LCA?

[@nishant115me]

because airforce wanted to spend on combat proven platform and wanted their money to be spent on a war proven jet. They knew they will have to invest in multiple generations of LCA to get what they want and not all governments would approve the funds. If you invest in first generation and then stop, you are stuck with an incomplete platform.

[@bhayo8522]

This is institutional lethargy, apathy and sheer lack of vision at its worst. Period

[@Krish_8888]

400 pilots ! Really

[@methane13]

Your comparison of mig with Tejas is wrong..I think if Tejas had undergone as much flying hours mig, there could be much more fatalities

[@zaffazad4040]

My heart goes to the grieving families; seeing such a loss of life is deplorable. The issues with Mig-21 are as old as its commission; it's tough for any aircrew to keep such an old aircraft serving accident free. I think the Indian Ministry of Defence must change its mindset to take action when required; LCA's and Rafael’s, too late, too little, have put men and their families at risk. It starts to form the technical analysis, to the finance ministry, to the bidding regime, to air force clearance and maintenance infrastructure/cost. The critical factor is inept politicians and corrupt people who want to make money on contracts and in-house development.

[@satyam.shankar]

I'm glad to see more and more people in the comments aware of how the LCA Tejas has been capable enough to replace Mig 21s since the late 2000s and that the blame for the Mig 21 mishaps also rests on the IAF itself. Hope all parties involved start trusting and funding Indian R&D and the vision for a more self reliant India comes to fruition as soon as possible.

[@abhishekgiri1201]

Replacements has not come because the IAF kept on shifting the goal posts as far as their requirements are concerned. Every Two years they wanted certain new features or requirements to be added so how do they expect the manufacturers and designers to incorporate all that in the first fighter produced of a country?

[@fekularsome2363]

iAf Wanted A Aircraft with out short coming but they forget no Plane In it first phase come with Out problems!

[@badwalvlogs9243]

100 %true

[@amalsooraj4256]

IAF doesn't change the goalpost, its the inefficiency of HAL to deliver product at the right time makes it difficult for IAF to accept the product. Tejas was proposed in 1982 has a replacement for Mig21, by the time tejas started flying in 2005, the aircraft technology was completely changed by then, The mk1 tejas had Outdated Radar, no ECM, plus when testing was done many problems and defects were found out, which then resulted in the advancement for Tejas MK1A. Ur excepting IAF to procure outdated products & then complain why IAF prefer foreign Aircrafts over indigenous ones.

[@yy77220]

@@amalsooraj4256 you put it very logically Sooraj👍

[@muddassirbijrakashmirlove7209]

Mig21 : 70 in service Tejas : total 123 ordered

[@spectre3954]

The biggest question to me is WHY was LCA program delayed for so long...why was IAF so fixated on getting a perfect LCA...why couldn't IAF induct Tejas long time ago and make them better over their blocks...just like how other countries do it...

[@spectrum_X]

Remember what AK Antony the then defence minister during Congress had said in the parliament. He clearly said that their govt doesn't have money. 🤬🤬🤬

[@saurabh5991]

@@darveshzamindar it's not ministry of defence but IAf who wants near perfect aircraft.... Even earlier MOD played a major role behind the induction of Tejas squadrons in IAF. Thanks to Late Manohar Parrikar sir...

[@ramgarhia9945]

It's been 40 year bro. Starting tejas program. Still working progress ??? And we mock Chinese for their aircraft. 🤦

[@loljk1991]

Or maybe LCA Tejas is a failure?.

[@streetsmarttraders3086]

Because of useless Congress government. Had BJP not been in power, Tejas would not seen the light of the day.

[@pisquared1827]

If the IAF asks for more Tejas it will get them. The problem is that according to reports the IAF keeps complaining that they don't want Tejas and Tejas is being forced on them. The IAF seems to only want foreign aircraft which are very expensive and which cannot therefore be procured in large enough numbers. This is the cause of the shortage of aircraft in the IAF that causes very old and obsolete aircraft remain in service in India, while other countries have long phased them out.

[@lamkoiyeenkoiyeen4437]

Shame

[@taxidon4947]

MIG 21 zindahbad. its such a legendary Aircraft. it has truly attained a status of the most legendary Aircraft ever since its the best entertainer for the Pakistanis. We love hearing about Mig Crashes like 10 times a year at least :-D :-D :-D

[@themaccabee1890]

Clear and Concise. This is what differentiate officers from politicians. The fact that crashes are of a frequent occurence is a matter of great concern? No matter how much upgrade you gave, but it is a fact that material degrade with time. Yes, the rate of crashes may be low, but that's because the aircraft has been here for quite a long time. When we see the time span of when the crashes has occurred, then the picture may get a little clear.

[@misterbean5308]

Its a shame india cannot provide good modern fighter jets to its pilots despite being largest importer of weapons in the world.. The tejas which supposed to replace Vintage MiG 21 is still not in FOC and only 30 is produced in IOC after 30 years of production...tejas is still not fully weaponised.

[@lamkoiyeenkoiyeen4437]

Shame

[@sagarjackie7366]

I have worked for a supplier to HAL for 7 years in Bangalore until 2007. My company used to supply imported machinery and spares and consumables for the same to HAL in different parts of the country. The acronym for HAL among our engineers was Hindustan Araam Lodge. At least in HAL Bangalore I was aware that reporting late for work was the norm. HAL worked like a typical government organisation. Even back then, the aircrafts made by HAL would crash, not just MiG-21s, even Sukhois and Mirages have crashed. Imagine the IAF buying a plane designed and manufactured by these guys! Fortunately today we have a government hell bent on atmanirbhar at any cost. That has probably brought about this change in the Tejas. The present government listened to both sides and got down to resolving the concerns of both the parties. While HAL was content with being the Hindustan Araam Lodge, the IAF and the political class were content with kick backs. But the present government will have none of this, the results are there for all to see.

[@yy77220]

...... yaa even Piyush Goyalji too said That they are going to get rid off this AARAM legacy of government jobs..... Good!! By toiling extra only our Nation will grow🌟👍

[@sherlockhomes520]

This all government owned organization are of nehru ,indira era , if you want to work your government organisations , efficiently , it should be like communist countries , like russia & china who can fire anybody if not working well ,or you should have private ones ,this kind of government, entity whose staff nobody can fire will result in inefficiency

[@sagarjackie7366]

@@sherlockhomes520 I studied economics at the Masters level for 2 years under Socialist professors. What I heard from them was that back then they (USSR & China) had production quotas which they had to meet by hook or by crook. Often to meet the target, quality would go for a toss. If they exceeded the target, they would conceal the fact so they could use it later if there was a shortfall. The joke in socialist countries was better to go to socialist hell than to capitalist hell as often the boiler would break down in socialist hell or the coal won't be available or the worker will report sick etc. The problem in India is that we have democracy and socialism. England had the same problem in the 1970's. Please watch the video on the reason for the failure of the Rover SD1. The British motorcar industry was destroyed by unions. We have the exact same problem in Kerala. But there are powerful unions in Germany and the US. Even in India powerful unions exist in Navratna PSUs but some PSUs like BEL or BEML or BHEL are doing well. I think it ultimately depends on political will. Piyush Goyal and Nitin Gadkari are ministers who won't take crap from anyone. Since ordinary workers also look upto them, they co-operate with the ministers and don't support union leaders. Much the same thing might have happened with HAL. I know that HAL Bangalore has a large number of Malayali staff, ripe conditions for unions. The Modi government might have got real tough with them which is why they are now doing some serious work.

[@zaidhussain3658]

true the russian made sukhois have a better record

[@blueberry4629]

@@sagarjackie7366 You are very, very correct about the socialist type of economies !! Assembly lines stood still even for the lack of a small component. The trade unions in Germany are very powerfull, BUT their Work-Ethics are ALSO very powerfull. Unlike ,as you rightly observed, in Hindustan Araam Lodge of former era. 👍😪

[@ravi12786oldsongs]

Respected former IAF chief. When you are in service why you didn't make pressure on government, and after retirement you are raising question this is not fair.

[@pravinmeher2036]

He pressurized govt to buy foreign fighters and not buy TEJAS

[@shivakumars6194]

Every govt officer works without raising the question when u r in service , we talk after retiring.

[@VS7.]

A gap between 2005 to 2014 ‘Khongress’ bought nothing or helped HAL for LCA. A huge gap !!

[@pushpinderchoudhary2735]

Who Bought Sukhoi-30mki?

[@VS7.]

@@pushpinderchoudhary2735 bajpayee BJP govt

[@volvodriver88]

A quite pertinent, simple & straight-forward question to ask the ex-ACM would have been to why did it take so much time for IAF to repose any trust in the LCA program and order them in numbers? It's pretty simplistic and blame-shifting mentality to say now that IAF is forced to fly the Migs as the replacements haven't arrived yet. But isn't it that the IAF itself that has shot itself in the foot and is to blame squarely for the current state of affairs vis-a-vis the squadron strengths. When LCA had its first flight in 2001 & the first IOC from the IAF was given in 2011 then why was there so much delay in ordering the first two squadrons? For sure the ordering of the IOC, FOC & later the MK1A variants could have been much expedited from the IAF side if there was a little bit more enthusiasm and support for the indigenous program. Tejas IOC itself is much superior and safer than the Migs and the process of phasing out the Migs could have started from the middle of last decade itself had timely orders for LCA been greenlighted from IAF side. But NO precious time was unnecessarily lost in having a "perfect" platform through exhaustive flight testing of the Tejas in every configuration and geography imaginable before finally signing on the dotted lines; maybe with the intention being to save capital for the phoren imported maal which in any case is always hard to come by with a history of scams hanging like the sword of damocles....

[@JayOjha2016]

I understand your frustration, sir, but you need to ask yourself: Would you buy something that doesn't suit your requirement? You would definitely do some research and find the best out of the money allotted to you. It's easy to blame IAF by writing a fancy paragraph. Flying on a commercial aeroplane is risky and dealt with so much caution. A single minor design flaw in Boeing 737 max had taken so many lives and was eventually grounded, how can you expect a professional Airforce which has to take care of two hostile borders will take anything served on the plate to them and that too after a war happened just 2 years back in 1999. Have some common sense and also read how a military works. HAL was corrupt af. The unprofessional behaviour they had shown in such an important program and you're blaming the airforce and asking why they didn't buy that time!?? The reason you see Tejas rocking now is that it has gone under a lot of improvements and is now capable of dominating the skies. Simple reason - You're not gonna eat whatever you're served on the plate. Read how everything works before blaming the airforce for everything.

[@hahua90]

Well; sorry to say this but your statement shows clearly you dont really know what you're talking about!! IAF has always stated its requirements clearly about what kind of aircraft it needs with what capabilities, when and in what numbers. In crystal clear manner!! LCA's induction was delayed as it wasn't able to meet the requirements of IAF initially. That is why you see the IOC version, then the FOC version and then the MK1A version which is like a stop gap arrangement and the MK1A version has 43 improvements over the FOC version. When IAF gets an aircraft then it has to fly it for the next 3 decades atleast! It cannot simply accept an aircraft which doesn't meet its present requirements! See, answer is that clear to your question!! Coming on to numbers, IAF has never got what it has asked for. It wanted around 90-120 mirage 2000s during the 80s, but only got half that number. It clearly stated that it needs 126 Rafales in 2011 after it was declared the winner of MMRCA competition, see how many it got! And how much time has already elapsed!! You have to understand, its not the IAF which procures the aircraft. Its the bloody ministry of defence. Successive governments have simply failed to do anything to improve the shoddy intake/acquisition process including the present government. IAF is courageous enough to make do with vintage aircraft. IAF is suffering because of the government and bureaucrats.

[@bealive64]

@@JayOjha2016 bhai you will as per your budget & present situation.Yor will not go beyond your budget, & if Tejas is not fullfilling the said requirements then why it has taken place in world market?? It has been probably done much earlier but you know when system will try to buy Augusta Westland n not suppored the IMRH .

[@ranadenikhil07]

Agree with both OP and Jay. Blame has to be shared by both the IAF and Govt. IAF is even now sceptical of indigenous weapon systems and I can't blame them as their lives are at stake. However, look at our Navy, they have been very positive to indigenous platforms as a result of which we have developed manufacturing capabilities for all our needs. We can differ in opinion as to who is to blame but I think we can all agree that MoD should be scrapped immediately. Let the forces decide for themselves and purchase their weapons

[@JayOjha2016]

@@bealive64 As I said, Tejas has gone through a lot to be what it is rn. In its segment, it's one of the best and hence IAF is also enthusiastic about it.

[@davegoonawardana2332]

My prayers to the young men who passed away but the mig 21 is one of the best from the 60s 70s 80s 90s 2000s one of the best jet fighters . Do not blame it respect it .

[@deepakjoshi110]

Dear everything in this has h life , even u nd m have a particular life span den why don't this aircraft hv the life span......??? They aren't working at alll my boy.......u are going to cry even if u see it from near

[@srinivasduv]

Strong message by ACM Dhanoa. Salute

[@SKB2905]

Hats off to ex Airchief Dhanoa for clear all air about flying coffin reputation of MIG 21

[@abhishekkumar-yu7fh]

Good to hear dhanoa sir... Shiv u see the smoothness n clarity with which he speaks

[@Gitabhakta78]

I am very sure, it is not just the Government which is responsible for this situation of not having enough aircrafts. We have seen the tantrums of IAF in accepting the Tejas. Collectively a cohesive approch was missing.

[@devendrasingh-tq5ss]

In Delhi cars more than 15 years old are not allowed to run, where as MIG 21 are still made to fly.✈️

[@mayasin2943]

As a soldier, I pay heartedly homage to the families for such a great loss. N Shame on Government of Dehli.

[@bastabbiswas7734]

Government of Delhi? Means shame on Kejriwal?

[@navalfa7291]

You means as an ex solider of Pakistan?

[@shivajivythi7307]

The politicians sons should work for IAF and fly the MIG 21s... Then they will know the pain of lossing the young pilots🥺😪

[@skyslimit3746]

An excellent professional Air Officer. It was very nice to hear from him.

[@anoops8333]

Pls don't blame such a beautiful machine. I just love her very much and it served India to the fullest.

[@arshjordan5455]

There is a theory (don't know if it's true) but bureaucracy on purpose delaying the LCA & other projects so that IAF strength decreases and Govt is forced to buy foreign aircraft for quick replacement and bureaucrats get their kickbacks.

[@KAULAJAY]

CoAS has rightly summed up the whole issue very well. He's a great warrior, a great leader and a great CITIZEN. JAI HIND 🙏

[@learnwithdrimran9716]

This is the news that Indians want to see.. the maturity in the answers and the honesty

[@rajsaggar3673]

It is pertinent for our Air Force to think millions of times before opening the boastful mouth that “ we are capable of countering two front war” or “ Indian airforce can strike deep into enemy territory”. Indian airforce has always put up a dismal performance, be it post Balakot when despite of being sure of Pakistan’s counter response within few days they pitted Mig 21 against formidable F-16 and even couldn’t fire SAMs to incoming full batch of 16 aircrafts of Pakistani near the boarder and even couldn’t chase them down when they were airborne for full 20 minutes. Neither they have any credible evidence that they shoot down F-16. They themselves wasted more than 10 years to study and finalise 126 MRCA only to find out after 10 years that their selection of Rafael declining the manufacturing the aircrafts in India, by the way which was the foremost condition to select the vendor. Their own lust for imported aircrafts has seriously impacted the indigenous efforts. They are good enough to walk on the tarmac wearing rayban sunglasses.

[@amithabv1060]

1 both sides fly close to the border during combat patrol. No body is going to fire Sam batteries till the planes are inside their own territory 2 if they were so incompetent they wouldn't have been able to cross the border undetected by the Pakistan's 3. To chase them down would mean to be susceptible to Sam fire from their side which would have been stupid. 4 the Pakistanis never crossed the border 5 the problem was the range of the missiles we were using the r77 whereas they had the Amram that issue has been rectified now

[@rajsaggar3673]

@@amithabv1060 1. You are wrong. Pakistani, even though they reminded within their territory, but they threw bombs inside Indian territory. They attacked Indian installations. It doesn’t require india to shift their SAM batteries to move inside Pak. IAF could have fired SAMs while remaining inside their own territory. They lost big opportunity to teach PAF a lessons. 2. The digital aperture of those air raids and air dog fights shows that only three Indian fighters flew towards coming PAFs attacking squadron. And then only one MIG of Abhinadhan went across and fired BVR. What other IAF fighters were doing. They could have chased them down or could have fired BVRs as PAFs fighters were merely 15 km from their range. 3. IAF said that their military installations were targeted. So what else they were waiting for . Why didn’t they launch another raids against PAFs air installations ? Why did they simply remain silent. 4. That is only none of contention with our IAF. They always cry for weapons and always lament about not having sufficient range of BVRs. Then for what they make tall claims about their abilities. 5. Their own complacency delayed the indigenisation of own BVR. 6. That was the good time for IAF to show their strength. They could have shoot down few enemy aircraft if they have anticipated and chalked out their strategies clearly. At least they could have gone for quick air assault in response to Pakistan’s attacking their positions and installation. 7. They were given free hand by governments in 2005 to select the future aircraft for their 126 requirements. They took more than 12 years to select Rafael and god knows what details they were looking for as all these information could easily be obtained by simply visiting air shows where all foreign vendors come and display their products. And the biggest failure was that once they select Rafael, it was found that Rafael was not ready to transfer their technology to HAL at all. This was the foremost condition at the first place. They wasted 12 years and what happened afterwards, GOI had to buy of the shelves fighters aircraft. They themselves are incapable to calculate their own needs. 7. India lost its two brave young pilots. I heard three years back that IAF has grounded all its MiG bison. Now it is found that the young trainees are being trained on MIG -21. India is developing MRMCAs and AMCAs. What’s the point when they don’t have safe fighter aircrafts to train their young pilots. Israel won its all war purely by air dominance and they won because their pilots were well trained. Rather buying 5 and 6 generation fighters, or spending billions on developing Tejas series, IAF could have asked DRDO to develop at least three variants of trainers with good range and at least india could have export the fighter trainers. 8. IAF has always displayed very disappointing performance be it tactical level or strategic level.

[@padmasenan557]

Please comment on technical issues only after knowing these issues. Do you know that there are no runners up in war ?? Any wrong decision of wrong acquisition, can be catastrophic in war. Our history of indigenous aircraft have been dismal , be it HF24, Marut etc. Even in the case of Tejus, the HAL has been beset by production delays. And don't forget, that the engines are still imported

[@rajsaggar3673]

@@padmasenan557 IAF is only doing catastrophe after one an another. I don’t know when they will learn. Their infatuation having 5 or 6 generations fighter planes in their inventory but unfledged pilots is just abhorrent.

[@bineetgupta]

They may keep boasting, but if Pakistan really feared them, then they wouldn't try to enter Indian airspace after the terror camps were destroyed in balakot neither would Chinese fighter jets keep entering Indian airspace every now and then, but the story is not going to end with phasing out Mig21s. In case you or they have forgotten, I would like to remind them that after Mig 21, Mig 29s have to be phased out as well because they too are getting old and also the Jaguar attack aircrafts and after that mirage 2000s are going to follow. Spare part issues have already started with these planes as they too are out of production like mig21. So very soon maybe till 2030, we are going to be left with just 272 Su 30s and 36 Rafaels, not to mention that we dont have enough Tanker aircraft and Awacs aircraft. So how they claim to fight 2 front war is beyond my understanding ❗ The mig 21 retirement date keeps shifting forward, earlier they used to say 2022, then they changed to 2024 and now 2025, I don't think that they will stick to that date too, and maybe fly the other three aircraft that I mentioned for another 50 years as well.

[@abhisheksrivastava4236]

This is very very serious and we can't afford loss. RIP bravehearts.🙏🏻🙏🏻💐💐

[@Indtami]

The Mig pilots were among the best and respected across the all airforce s in the world..it's just a rocket with wings..still holds the highest landing speed..other aircrafts may forgive you for the mistake..but when comes to Mig 21 ..pilot error leads to death..who ever technicians works in Mig sqn..will have hearing problems as a perk..after retirement....my uncle is one of those..it doesn't matter if they use ear plugs or noise arrest headset..civilians say that pilots are not ready to fly migs or afraid to fly..those Mig pilots are most respected among the flyboys.

[@sujoyghosh5880]

Bloody Government and national green tribunal are hell bent on scrapping 15 year old vehicles even if those are found fit and non polluting. These include private vehicles also. By doing so the Modi Government wants to enhance automobile sales and support the automobile industry and the industrialists. However the Indian Air Force continues to use the MIG 21 fighter Aircrafts which were inducted in the Indian Air Force 40 years back and are not airworthy at all. MIG 21 has given excellent performance during its heydays and played decisive role during war and difficult times. Now the need for grounding the MIG 21 which is long overdue must be carried out immediately. We have lost a large number of brilliant Airforce officers dur to the irresponsible and indifferent attitude of the Government. The parents and kin of the dead young men must join hands and form a forum and take the ministry of defence and the Airforce to the court of law and take legal action and demand compensation to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees.

[@kgevs]

Very healthy line of questioning. Good interview

[@dineshadhanyam9532]

"Do you find a car on the road as old as the MiG 21?" That was a killer punch from the Air Chief. Did it hit any jaw? Not the anchor's jaw. If it had hit home he should have repeated the Chief's remark.

[@baldevdhaliwal8865]

Well said by my Air chief for technicalities.

[@amittaneja9658]

Very unfortunate and shameful. Politicians, bureaucrats and the IAF top brass have all failed the nation and these young pilots. Will there be a parliamentary debate on the Mig 21 crashes or do they have more important topics to debate such as “rashtrapatni”?

[@90ankisharma]

well said..

[@nehkhohaosingsit305]

Why there's no more Chief of Defence Staff? Was this not necessarily created post?

[@udaybetgar4919]

Nationalistic and patriotic foundation in bureaucracy will give rise to urgency. Those posted in defence ministry need to have this basic understanding.

[@katiresanarumugam4260]

Since decades IAF pilots R attached to Mig-21's, want to save this bird in emergency despite ejection available. Salute our best men behind fighters

[@RohitSharma-od8qv]

sir dhanua have great mentality for defence very clever general

[@deepakahuja3413]

Brave chaps - hats off to you guys !!! Indian politicians should be made to fly in these Mig 21s !!!

[@sanjaygandotra644]

The Air Marshal says at the outset, that MIG-21 replacement has not come. Does that mean, till the time replacement comes, we are at liberty to play around with the lives of pilots and and their families. The world ridicules us for the partisan attitude of our government towards defence forces. The crash is all the more agitating as the pilot comes from Sainik School Nagrota, my alma mater. Not forgetting, a few years back, again one of my juniors from the same school, Capt. Arvind Bazala (army aviation), uselessly lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter for no rhyme and reason Remember ? ...... some years back we didn't have shoes for high altitude warfare. Also, we still don't have enough bullet proof jackets to equip our jawans against insurgents. The list doesn't end here; more exposures, more embarrassment. Someone at the helm should be made accountable. 👨‍✈️

[@ghostgutarist5234]

MIG 21 is one of the Legendary Fighter ever Built. Know the History. and we must Pay respect to it with out name calling. Yes it must be Phased out cause it is a 70years old technology and need SKILL to fly. it has less computer and more metal. it still able to compete in sky shows how capable they are.

[@Koo_pootra]

I totally agree with the one important point that the former air chief told, MIG-21 was designed in the first place as an interceptor & not as a multirole fighter but since we didn't had anything else, we went ahead with it & made it do all sort of things that it couldn't do, more like a "Jugaad".

[@danishromir]

Great questions Shiv and Great answered by The Chief 🙏🏻

[@tonjon2072]

India airforce is most powerFOOOOLLLL

[@abhishekverma6098]

It is indian air force mistake why do dey need an all together ready aircraft to replace mig-21. Tejas IOC is 100 times better than mig-21 this order of 83 should have been placed in 2013-14 not in 2021. Every air force be it american, russian , chinese or even pakistani support their indigenous aircrafts but indian air force don’t. With what happened i will blame indian air force if they are insecure about something talk to government which we all know they are for MRFA contract. But loosing pilots like this when indian air force pilot ration is 1.7 even worse than pakistan not acceptable indian Air Force must change their attitude on procurement

[@himmatjatt2262]

pakistan made which indigeous aircraft...ask congressi ghass and u talk about hu ha..they even not given bullet proof jacket....

[@abhishekverma6098]

@@himmatjatt2262 Abe gdhe defensive kyu ho rha h .. congress bjp nhi chl rha I am talking about India here ghodu.. I am a bjp fan but not a bhakt chickenless head ki trh social media mt use kiya kr .. ds is india

[@jotendrakumar2852]

Congress is problem

[@manasikinikar6323]

Thank you Air Chief , for this candid advise/observations..!

[@VijayKumar-gn9mq]

What the chief said , stands good. Mig crashes became that is used more often

[@arlinegeorge6967]

One of the greatest man of the Mighty indian Armed forces. Pray he and his family for generations to come serve with love gentle men values and morals. Thank i had been given great help by him. May generations to come be examples for mighty are right. Thank you and love and peace to all.

[@Anilkaushal32]

Very clear picture of mig 21 and air force..thanks chief for blatent answers

[@Ginio1982]

HAL employees will only work for salary, only there time spent in factory will count I,e 7 Am to 3 pm , 2 lunch and 2 Punch, they get there salaries paid for there 8 hours playing card's inside factory, government will pay the salaries on time without checking Accountability and performance, life time enjoyment..

[@Ash-gy4yv]

Salute to this great Air chief 🙏

[@bhayo8522]

This is exactly the point. The honourable ACM is repeating the same arguments which we have heard ad nauseum - we do not have the replacement aircraft for the MiG 21, these aircraft are serviceable and so on and so forth. So the question to be asked really to the top brass of the IAF and MOD, are young pilots expendable so that replacement aircrafts can be inducted at everyone's leisure, without any shred of accountability to the families of the pilots who have lost their lives in MiG 21 crashes. We go from one MiG 21 crash to another expressing condolences with poker faces and that's it. This is not acceptable.

[@fahadfawad1]

Respect and Gratitude from Pakistan.

[@vikrams16]

IAF needs more political officers, who know how things should be moved, instead of crying about file delays. I really feel sad about the replies of the ex chief. And one more suggestion, instead of promoting officers on seniority terms, capable officers should be identified and promoted for the top post much earlier, so they can serve longer to continue the consistency in policy.

[@manoharpanesar1497]

Good questions answered point blank. Nice to see such interviews

[@ramsharma4702]

Mig-21 is an ancient platform that has been retired by all air-forces of the world except IAF ! Spare parts are hard to get .

[@abhishekdev258]

Yo there.....MMRCA was never meant for replacing Mig21. Tejas was. Tejas in its IOC variant was far more capable than Mig21 yet only two squadrons were ordered. 😐

[@Subh8081]

I agree with the chief. 126 mmrca orders and induction of more LCA would have made the mig-21 disappear. But the IAF should have accepted LCA earlier in its not so perfect State of development and upgrade later as other nations do. Also IAF pilots should prioritise life vs equipment and mandate pilots to eject when fighter is unrecoverable.

[@coolwinds1585]

Agreed and Rightly said so

[@akshayb9955]

Why will they accept when it's under performing. LCA was horrible and under performed. In a way in the end the government ended up forcing it on IAF.

[@supratik.m]

INDIA needs 42 squadrons to defend herself on a 2 front war. We are already down to actual 31-32 squadrons. There are 5 MIG 21 Bison squadrons. If all are grounded, we will be down to 26-27 squadrons, to cover Pakistan and partial China. The MMRCA was shortened with 2 rafale squadrons. THE NEW MRFA has 3 planes the Rafale M4, The F35 and the SU57. The concerned authorities and the Central Govt. Is hereby requested to expedite and execute the deal in a wartime warp speed. P.S. Salute and Honour the Fallen. 🕉 SHANTI 🙏🙏

[@cityofjoy8830]

Let's agree to the fact that they are helpless and if government wants it can do atleast some new squadrons.

[@sagarkarvande]

@15:08 show me a car which is as old as the Mig21.. Truly the maintenance dept is one of the biggest unsung heros of the Indian Airforce.. The true force behind the Air forces. Trying to keep weapons ready for the front line force For @12:08 you don't know when the next crisis will happen... You can't be fighting an f16 with a Mig21

[@ayushgupta_4]

even when thus chief was in service, he said mig 21 is absolutely safe just because he was air chief!!!

[@amanpanwar4350]

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has been one of the best CAS

[@neerajnongmaithem392]

Imagine being a mig21 pilot and seeing your coursemates being stationed and assigned the rafale and su30mki.

[@darknesstolight3345]

The MIGs are designed for high maneuverablity and therefore, it's stability is compromised, unlike commercial flights. Hence, they require higher skills, especially at lower altitudes. Trainers need more instructions before moving to MIGs.

[@Koo_pootra]

Mig is not designed for high maneuvaribility, it's an high altitude interceptor designed by the soviets to intercept american bombers. Listen what the air chief says.

[@danishromir]

Honest Man 🙏🏻

[@baldevdhaliwal8865]

Very good reporter. Hats off Beta. My chief is right.

[@ajitfdiaz]

Hats off to Air Chief Marshal for his blunt, honest and well informed opinion. Time and again after every fatal crash my heart aches, as an Indian, to realise these things can be avoided by political will. In our country a high ranking politician will feel this hurt and tragedy of a loss of a son only if he loses one from his own family. I hope and pray we don't have to wait that long for a complete revamp of putting a time frame for decision making to moderate our fleet.

[@richardv9648]

If your country aspires to be a global power, you deserve moderns fighters. No one fly's migs.. not even the syrian air force.

[@abotozhimomi1901]

Who needs an enemy when we have MIG21.

[@sachinverma12]

I am sorry but I didn't get the satisfactory answer. The burning question is why there was a huge delay in procuring/inducting Tejas early on? Is the govt only the culprit or there are some rotton apples inside IAF too? In the end, who is suffering and at what cost? It is a high time for both the IAF and the govt sit together and fix this long pending mess once and for all. It is a repeated embarrassment for the whole Country that we can't fix the broken policy of procurement of defense equipment.

[@njs2121211]

India should order another 40 nos Tejas 1A in fast-track and also fast track mmrca2.

[@ranadenikhil07]

Our prayers are with the families of the brave soldiers🙏

[@sambasivan_m]

if its not bison, why did they have to fly them? those mig 21, which are not bison, they can be phased isnt it?

[@Drkp23]

Our typical Indian mindset is not to retire any equipment or machinery… we are following same for MIG 21… life has got least importance in India

[@indiandefensearena905]

Zero zero ejection seat is helpful only in scenario where jet is on runway. KM1 ejection seats are Russian standard used in migs and they are not the worst compared to Martin Baker. Issue is mig21 is not forgivable fighter jets they are very fast unlike tajes, jf17 ets morden fighters which can max fly at 1.5mach, mig 21 can catch up to 2mach so it's equally uncontrollable at low altitude and recovery is very tuf compared to morden jet which can fly at low speed easily.

[@sathishchetty]

Air chief has answered lot of questions without blaming govt and not letting the morale of flying force a difficult sense of balance. Still need to uphold our valor in front of enemies also you did manage all.Hope politicians act quick enough to resolve the issue. Can you drive a 50 years old bike or two-wheeler no way but salute to indian army.

[@mathai5456]

Incompetence and lousiness are two important factor. And the guilty are government and the manufacturer and IAF themselves.

[@chaman102]

Blaming everyone before even the investigation is complete, typical rant. Constructive criticism is appreciated , you're just crying and finding people to blame.

[@uppy4849]

Stop blaming and crying.

[@PankajSachdeva]

"Always" is used to denote slight of hand. Replacements will be available only if imported ones are available. 7 star logic.

[@lakshminarayanaraghu6727]

Fighter pilots are selected from selected lot, thats enough to say, they know what in their hands.

[@theexpert1825]

Thirty years ago was the same issue when my friend died. Pains me a lot. Today it's the same issue. In india machines are expensive not men unfortunately. You should ask the govt, everyone, who served since 50 years. What will the air force say if they don't have budget. Please ask the Govt. Thank you for raising the concern. We need to make the people aware of the situation. At the least the parents should know. Trainee pilots try to revive and not crash until too late. No mater what you say or train. Get the latest machines for training also. For people who are ready to die for us we should give them that much atleast. Indian air force is the best, Lets complement it by giving more funds please. Hope and pray this would not happen any more in the future. I believe the present govt will take care of the situation.

[@PaulNat360]

in terms of old mig designs, i actually like the mig 15 more than the mig 21

[@jayramgowda1197]

Best humbly informative interview

[@basusri1120]

Can you imagine us challenging the Chinese or the Pakistani Airforce? Our Politicians are ignorant and haven't the slightest clue in defense matters. It is up to our Airforce Chiefs to educate the politicians and warn them of the perilous situation the nation is due to lack of equipment. No wonder the Chinese intrude and annex our territory at will.

[@kimchiba4570]

Wrong ...the British took Chinese land when China was weak and gave them to you.. When they were your master

[@OIRAJ_TRAVELOGS]

With respect sir you are defending the undefendable. Its time its scrapped

[@abhishekdhakad2463]

Nice interview, directly started and to the point

[@9AMITkrYADAV]

If IAF had been serious about phasing out Mig21 then they would have made quick decion to induct Tejas in big numbers but they asked DRRO to refine it more and more until it becomes perfect.... But thats not the case with China and other countries... Their Air Force always make quick decision and inducts their indiginious fighter jets in phase manner with improvements...

[@navalfa7291]

Because they prefer Russian coffin than an Indian Coffin. Because Russian coffins have gore ka Ashirwad. Fault is cultural.

[@anannyachakraborty.4844]

So many things yet to develop. Life can also be developed. There may be few policies to develop these lives. Stupid of me. Every correct individuals were important and good people are essential and many polite and accurate individuals will be. This is simply genuine.

[@RAKESHKUMAR-pl6gy]

WHY RAHUL GANDHI IS SAYING " CHOOKIDAR CHOR HAI ". ON RAFALE DEAL. AND THESE PEOPLE DO CORRUPTION BUT DON'T PROVIDE RIGHT AIRCRAFTS TO OUR SOLDIERS . SHAME ON THE POLITICIANS WHO ARE DOING CORRUPTION IN DEFENSE DEAL AND KILLING OUR JAWANS. 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶

[@gonatinku]

I first of all I convoy my deep condolence to the family members those who lost their dear one by MIG 21

[@brajakishore5216]

MiIG 29 K new Will be the best bet

[@niranjansinghtanwar317]

Well said Chief

[@IndianSrMan]

I am not an expert in this area but from commsense I can say if Use of Mig-21 is inevitable then I think there should better quality check at every stage of servicing. Apart from that there may be external inspection for random checks. Also now sophisticated softwares are available for non destructive testing for eg . By sound of gear the gear can be accepted or rejected. Is there a quality department in IAF ? Please look into these suggestions.

[@fekularsome2363]

U Do The Best What u Got 2019 today it Mid 2022! Find. Order any more Mk1 which can upgrade block by block which help Mig21 retirement Faster!

[@bbhaipradeep]

Sahi jawab diya iss bike hue anchor Ko !

[@sherlockhomes520]

This all problems are due to , congress /upa government not buying any fighter jets in the period of 10 years( 2004-2014) , india went 10 years back & ,till 2014 ,there were no private players or joint venture system so ,airforce was relied on hal on quality & timing of the delivery

[@ShubhamKumar-sj6dp]

40 su30 were bought in 2007 ?

[@sherlockhomes520]

@@ShubhamKumar-sj6dp the deal was signed back in vajpayee time in 2000 ,to manufacture 140 su 30 mki & furthermore , it was a continuation of that , congress did not do any new fighter jet deal on their own , even tejas was stalled & mmrfa was cancelled