Sri Lanka, Aug. 13 -- On July 7 1966, a sleek, fast fighter plane hitherto un-encountered by Western air forces came like a bolt from the blue to down an American F-105 Thunderchief fighter bomber over North Vietnam, marking the first-ever MiG-21 aerial victory and forcing US to re-think air warfare tactics.

But, while the Republic of Vietnam retired its MiG-21 fleet a decade ago in 2015, India retained its faith in this iconic Cold-War era interceptor, finally retiring its MiG-21 fighters only in September 2025, after 62 years of active service.

The Mikoyan-Guryevich MiG-21, produced in greater numbers than any other supersonic aircraft in aviation history, still continues to serve with several air forces including Cuba, Angola and N...