MiG-21 (Family)

Description

The MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter originally developed for the Soviet Air Force by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau. It was put into service in 1959, served in 60 countries and its most modern variants remain in service today. It is the most-produced supersonic combat aircraft with more than 13,000 units built (around 11 000 MiG 21s and around 2000 J-7s). The main operators include the Soviet Union, India, Yugoslavia, North Korea, and China. The MiG-21 has also been produced by China (as the Chengdu J-7), Czechoslovakia (as the Aero S-106) and India.

Nicknames

MiG-21 Nicknames
▃ NATO	Fishbed · Fishcan · Mongol · Faceplate
▄ Indian	Vikram (Valor) · Trishul (Trident)
▂ Russian	Балалайка (Balalaika)
⋠ Polish	Ołówek (Pencil)
▂ Vietnamese	Én Bạc (Silver Swallow)
▃ American	Blue Bandit

Vehicles

Rank VI

• MiG-21 SPS-K (Germany) - _{LSK's MiG-21PFM to avoid confusion to their upgraded MiG-21PF fleet.}
• MiG-21F-13 - _{First production variant of MiG-21 with single 30 mm cannon and rangefinder.}
• MiG-21PFM - _{Interceptor version with new RP-21M radar and replaced with a 23 mm twin-barrel GSh-23L.}
• MiG-21S (R-13-300) - _{Soviet MiG-21 with RP-22 radar, GSh-23L and capable of launching SARH missiles.}
• J-7II - Later production series of Chinese licensed MiG-21F-13 with 2 30 mm cannon and upgraded engine.

Rank VII

• MiG-21MF (Germany) - _{LSK's MiG-21MF which were based on MiG-21SM in VVS service.}
• MiG-21bis-SAU (Germany) - _{LSK's MiG-21bis with Polyot ILS autopilot system.}
• MiG-21 "Lazur-M" (Germany) - _{LSK's MiG-21bis with Lazur-M air-defense command link system.}
• MiG-21SMT - _{VVS' MiG-21SM with additional spine fuel tanks.}
• MiG-21bis - _{New MiG-21 featuring new engine and better armaments.}
• J-7D - _{aka J-7IIIA; Chinese upgrades on their reverse-engineered MiG-21MF (J-7C/J-7III).}
• J-7E - _{aka J-7IV; unique Chinese variant with double-delta wing and revised fuel tank placements.}
• MiG-21bis (Sweden) - _{Exported MiG-21bis to Finnish Air Force.}

Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (中航工业成都飞机工业集团)
Jet Fighters
J-7	J-7II* · J-7D · J-7E
J-10	J-10A
JF-17	JF-17**
Drones	Wing Loong I
	*Unlicensed and reverse-engineered version of the MiG-21.
	**Jointly developed and built by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
See Also	Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau · Pakistan Aeronautical Complex