RADOME, PITOT TUBE, TWO-PIECE CANOPY, ENGINE AIR INTAKE, EXTERNAL FUEL DROP TANK, WING PYLONS

15-SCS-45 ACCUMULATOR BATTERIES

MUDGUARD / FOD SCREEN, MAIN LANDING GEAR, NOSE LANDING GEAR, WHEEL WELLS, GEAR DOORS, 500mm X 180mm KT-102 NOSE WHEEL TIRE, STRUT, BRAKE LINES

HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED SIDE-MOUNTED AND FUSELAGE AIR BRAKES

GSh-23 CANNON

WING MISSILE ATTACHMENT POINTS (RS-2US, R-3 / K-13)

SRPD ROCKET ATTACHMENT POIINTS

WING FLAPS, WING TIP LIGHTS AND ANTENNA

TAIL GROUP (RUDDER, VERTICAL TAIL, HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS, FLAPERONS, DIELECTRIC PANELS, TRAILING EDGE ANTENNA, PT-21UK BRAKE CHUTE, ACCESS PANELS / COVERS, MRP-56 RADIO BEACON RECEIVER, SPO-10 SIRENA RWR, RSIU-5V (R-802) COMMUNICATIONS RADIO ANTENNA, SRZO-2 IFF ANTENNA, SOD-57M TRANSPONDER AERIAL)

MPRF-1A LANDING LIGHT

R13-300 (TYPE 95) TWO-SHAFT AXIAL FLOWTURBOJET ENGINE

RP-21A RADAR

LAZUR GROUND INTERCEPT SYSTEM

ENGINE EXHAUST / AFTER BURNER / AUXILLIARY ENGINE COMPONENTS

BOARDING LADDER

EXTERNAL POWER RECEPTACLE / HYDRAULIC GROUND SUPPORT HOOK-UP / MAIN FUSELAGE FUEL FILLER CAP

QUICK RELEASE MAINTENANCE PANELS

COCKPIT, INSTRUMENT PANEL, CONTROL STICK, THROTTLE QUADRANT, SIDE CONSOLES, CRT GROUP, HUD, RADAR, COCKPIT FLOOR, RUDDER PEDALS, TRIM BUTTON, WEAPONS SELECTOR SWITCH, OPTICAL GUN SIGHT, GUN CAMERA, AoA INDICATOR, AR-155 AUTOPILOT

KM-1M EJECTION SEAT / NAZ-7 SURVIVAL KIT / PZ-M SOLID ROCKET MOTOR

23mm GSh-23L CANNON

TS-27AMSh REAR VIEW MIRROR

GUN GAS DEFLECTOR PLATE

EXTERNAL POWER RECEPTABLE

AIR FLOW RELIEF DOOR

RP-21MA SPIN SCAN RADAR

RP-22MA JAY BIRD RADAR / CONICAL RADOME

FUSELAGE SPEED BRAKES

CENTERLINE FUSELAGE AIR SPEED BRAKE

DVA-3A ANGLE OF ATTACK AoA SENSOR

AUXILLIARY AIR PRESSURE TUBE

PVD-7 AIR DATA BOOM

NOSE & MAIN LANDING GEAR (KT-102) / WHEEL WELL / WHEEL BRAKES / LANDING GEAR DOORS

SRO-2 ODD RODS IFF

ASP-PFD-21A GUN SIGHT

CANOPY / CANOPY STRUT / CANOPY RESTRAINING CALBE

COCKPIT / SIDEWALLS / THROTTLE / GCI SYSTEM / CONTROL STICK / OXYGEN SUPPLY CONTROLS / EMERGENCY LANDING GEAR RELEASE / MAIN INSTRUMENT PANEL / SECONDARY INSTRUMENT PANEL / RUDDER PEDALS

KM-1M EJECTION SEAT / SCALLOPED HEADREST / EXTRACTION PARACHUTE / HARNASS / PZ-M SOLID ROCKET MOTOR / GROUND EGRESS & MANUAL OVERRIDE / MAIN EJECTION HANDLES

SPO-10 RHAW ANTENNA / SRZO-2 IFF SYSTEM / WING POSITION LIGHTS / FLAPS / STATIC DISCHARGE / WING FENCE / RETRACTABLE MPRF-1A LANDING LIGHT / AILERON SWAY BRACE FAIRINGS / RV-UM RADIO ALTIMETER ANTENNA / MISSILE RAILS / EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS

TUMANSKY R-11F-300 JET ENGINE, R-13-F-300 JET ENGINE

ARK-10 ADF / 15-SCS-45 ACCUMULATOR BATTERIES / SPRD-99 ATTACHMENT POINT / AIR INTAKE / CENTRAL REFUELING POINT / SOD-57M AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ATC TRANSPONDER / R-802 RADIO ANTENNA / TP-21UK BRAKING PARACHUTE / FUEL DUMP PIPE

CHINESE FISHBEDS (J-7, F-7, AIRGUARD)

USER COUNTRIES: CZECH AIR FORCE, BULGARIAN AIR FORCE, INDIAN AIR FORCE, ZIMBABWE AIR FORCE, GERMAN LUFTWAFFE (exDDR), CROATIAN AIR FORCE, AFGHAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC AIR FORCE, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ALGERIA, ANGOLA, BANGLADESH, BURKINA FASO, PLAAF CHINA, REPUBLIC OF CONGO, CUBA,  CZECHOSLOVAKIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, EGYPT, EAST GERMANY DDR, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, HUNGARY, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ,  ISRAEL, NORTH KOREA, LAOS, LIBYA, MADAGASCAR, MALI, MONGOLIA, MOZAMBIQUE, MYANMAR BURMA, NAMIBIA, NIGERIA, PAKISTAN, POLAND, RUMANIA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SOVIET AIR FORCE, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA, SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SUDAN, SYRIA, TANZANIA, UGANDA, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VIETNAM, YEMEN, YUGOSLAVIA, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE

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FROM INTERNET ENCYCLOPEDIA:  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. IT WAS POPULARLY NICKNAMED "BALALAIKA", FROM THE AIRCRAFT'S PLANFORM-VIEW RESEMBLANCE TO THE RUSSIAN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OR O£ÓWEK (ENGLISH: PENCIL) BY POLISH PILOTS DUE TO THE SHAPE OF ITS FUSELAGE.

EARLY VERSIONS ARE CONSIDERED SECOND-GENERATION JET FIGHTERS, WHILE LATER VERSIONS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THIRD-GENERATION JET FIGHTERS. SOME 50 COUNTRIES OVER FOUR CONTINENTS HAVE FLOWN THE MIG-21, AND IT STILL SERVES MANY NATIONS A HALF-CENTURY AFTER ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT. THE FIGHTER MADE AVIATION RECORDS. AT LEAST BY NAME, IT IS THE MOST-PRODUCED SUPERSONIC JET AIRCRAFT IN AVIATION HISTORY AND THE MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT SINCE THE KOREAN WAR, AND IT HAD THE LONGEST PRODUCTION RUN OF A COMBAT AIRCRAFT (1959 TO 1985 OVER ALL VARIANTS).

THE MIG-21 WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL SOVIET AIRCRAFT COMBINING FIGHTER AND INTERCEPTOR CHARACTERISTICS IN A SINGLE AIRCRAFT. IT WAS A LIGHTWEIGHT FIGHTER, ACHIEVING MACH 2 WITH A RELATIVELY LOW-POWERED AFTERBURNING TURBOJET, AND IS THUS COMPARABLE TO THE AMERICAN LOCKHEED F-104 STARFIGHTER AND NORTHROP F-5 FREEDOM FIGHTER AND THE FRENCH DASSAULT MIRAGE III. ITS BASIC LAYOUT WAS USED FOR NUMEROUS OTHER SOVIET DESIGNS; DELTA-WINGED AIRCRAFT INCLUDED SU-9 INTERCEPTOR AND THE FAST E-150 PROTOTYPE FROM MIG BUREAU WHILE THE MASS-PRODUCED SUCCESSFUL FRONT FIGHTER SU-7 AND MIKOYAN'S I-75 EXPERIMENTAL INTERCEPTOR COMBINED A SIMILAR FUSELAGE SHAPE WITH SWEPT-BACK WINGS. HOWEVER, THE CHARACTERISTIC LAYOUT WITH THE SHOCK CONE AND FRONT AIR INTAKE DID NOT SEE WIDESPREAD USE OUTSIDE THE USSR AND FINALLY PROVED TO HAVE LIMITED DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL, MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE VERY SMALL SPACE AVAILABLE FOR THE RADAR.

LIKE MANY AIRCRAFT DESIGNED AS INTERCEPTORS, THE MIG-21 HAD A SHORT RANGE. THIS WAS NOT HELPED BY A DESIGN DEFECT WHERE THE CENTER OF GRAVITY SHIFTED REARWARDS ONCE TWO-THIRDS OF THE FUEL HAD BEEN USED. THIS HAD THE EFFECT OF MAKING THE PLANE UNCONTROLLABLE, RESULTING IN AN ENDURANCE OF ONLY 45 MINUTES IN CLEAN CONDITION. THE ISSUE OF THE SHORT ENDURANCE AND LOW FUEL CAPACITY OF THE MIG-21F, PF, PFM, S/SM AND M/MF VARIANTS—THOUGH EACH HAD A SOMEWHAT GREATER FUEL CAPACITY THAN ITS PREDECESSOR—LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MT AND SMT VARIANTS. THESE HAD A RANGE INCREASE OF 250 KM (155 MI) COMPARED TO THE MIG-21SM, BUT AT THE COST OF WORSENING ALL OTHER PERFORMANCE FIGURES (SUCH AS A LOWER SERVICE CEILING AND SLOWER TIME TO ALTITUDE).

THE DELTA WING, WHILE EXCELLENT FOR A FAST-CLIMBING INTERCEPTOR, MEANT ANY FORM OF TURNING COMBAT LED TO A RAPID LOSS OF SPEED. HOWEVER, THE LIGHT LOADING OF THE AIRCRAFT COULD MEAN THAT A CLIMB RATE OF 235 M/S (46,250 FT/MIN) WAS POSSIBLE WITH A COMBAT-LOADED MIG-21BIS, NOT FAR SHORT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE LATER F-16A. GIVEN A SKILLED PILOT AND CAPABLE MISSILES, IT COULD GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT OF ITSELF AGAINST CONTEMPORARY FIGHTERS. ITS G-LIMITS WERE INCREASED FROM +7GS IN INITIAL VARIANTS TO +8.5GS IN THE LATEST VARIANTS. IT WAS REPLACED BY THE NEWER VARIABLE-GEOMETRY MIG-23 AND MIG-27 FOR GROUND SUPPORT DUTIES. HOWEVER, NOT UNTIL THE MIG-29 WOULD THE SOVIET UNION ULTIMATELY REPLACE THE MIG-21 AS A MANEUVERING DOGFIGHTER TO COUNTER NEW AMERICAN AIR SUPERIORITY TYPES.

THE MIG-21 WAS EXPORTED WIDELY AND CONTINUES TO BE USED. THE AIRCRAFT'S SIMPLE CONTROLS, ENGINE, WEAPONS, AND AVIONICS WERE TYPICAL OF SOVIET-ERA MILITARY DESIGNS. THE USE OF A TAIL WITH THE DELTA WING AIDS STABILITY AND CONTROL AT THE EXTREMES OF THE FLIGHT ENVELOPE, ENHANCING SAFETY FOR LOWER-SKILLED PILOTS; THIS IN TURN ENHANCED ITS MARKETABILITY IN EXPORTS TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH LIMITED TRAINING PROGRAMS AND RESTRICTED PILOT POOLS. WHILE TECHNOLOGICALLY INFERIOR TO THE MORE ADVANCED FIGHTERS IT OFTEN FACED, LOW PRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS MADE IT A FAVORITE OF NATIONS BUYING EASTERN BLOC MILITARY HARDWARE. SEVERAL RUSSIAN, ISRAELI AND ROMANIAN FIRMS HAVE BEGUN TO OFFER UPGRADE PACKAGES TO MIG-21 OPERATORS, DESIGNED TO BRING THE AIRCRAFT UP TO A MODERN STANDARD, WITH GREATLY UPGRADED AVIONICS AND ARMAMENTS