Cost-effectiveness and high-performance has kept the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 'Fishbed' a viable fighter/interceptor/attacker over today's technologically-heavy battlefield. The supersonic aircraft began life as a short-ranged interceptor and blossomed to become a Cold War success story with over 60 nations at one time or another making use of the type. Production matched its popularity with totals surpassing 10,500 units. Introduced at the end of the 1950s, the MiG-21 was an evolution of the MiG line of jets debuting in the Korean War (1950-1953) and went on to become a bridge design between the MiG-19 and all-modern MiG-29. Modernization has kept the MiG-21 a threat to be reckoned with today.
1 CREW
Speed
1,392 MPH
Ceiling
57,415 FEET
Range
410 MILES
Mission Roles
AIR-TO-AIR
INTERCEPTION
GROUND ATTACK
STRIKE
RECON
TRAINING
EXPERIMENTAL
Gallery
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MiG-21 ('Fishbed') - Base Series Designation.
Ye-1 - Design of 1954; Mikulin AM-5A non-afterburning turbojet engine.
Ye-2 - Prototype of 1955; Mikulin AM-9B afterburning turbojet engine.
Ye-4 - Prototype of 1955 with delta-wing planform.
Ye-50 - Prototype of 1956 with swept-wing mainplanes and intended as a high-altitude interceptor; Dushkin S-155 rocket motor; Ye-50/3 later crashed in August 1957.
Ye-50A - Prototype of 1956; revised Ye-50 model; cancelled.
Ye-5 (I-500) - Model of 1956; delta-winged planform; Mikulin AM-11 turbojet engine.
Ye-6 - Model of 1957; three examples of the MiG-21F production model.
Ye-50P - Model of 1958; Proposed high-altitude model with rocket booster; cancelled.
MiG-21 ("Fishbed-A") - Initial production version based on the Ye-5.
MiG-21F ("Fishbed-B") - Production model of 1959; Single-seat day-fighter; 1 x 30mm and 2 x 23mm cannons or 2 x 30mm cannons; 2 x Bomb hardpoints; 93 examples completed.
Ye-6T - Models of 1959-1961; MiG-21F prototypes with R11F2-300 turbojet engine; world speed/altitude record breakers.
MiG-21P-13 (Ye-7) - Model of 1958; interceptor; K-13 AAM support; two examples.
MiG-21F-13 ("Fishbed-C") - Model of 1960; short-ranged day fighter variant; 1 x 30mm cannon with K-13 missile support; unguided rocket support.
MiG-21FR - Czech production reconnaissance models.
MiG-21F-13R - Model of 1974; Bulgarian reconnaissance models.
Aero S-106 - Czech production model based in the MiG-21F-13.
J-7 - Chinese export model based in the MiG-21F-13 by Chengdu.
F-7 - Chinese export model based in the MiG-21F-13 by Chengdu.
Ye-6V ("Fishbed-E") - Experimental MiG-21F-13 used in Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) tests; JATO rocket-equipped.
MiG-21PF ("Fishbed-D") - Model of 1961; interceptor production model; R11F2-300 turbojet engines; RP-21 radar.
MiG-21FL - Radar-equipped interceptor variant of 1965 with afterburning turbojet engine.
Type 77 - Indian license-production model of the MiG-21FL.
Ye-7SPS - Model of 1961.
MiG-21PFS - Model of 1963.
Ye-7M - Evolved Ye-7SPS prototype, becoming prototype mark for the MiG-21PFM.
MiG-21PFM - Model of 1964.
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