00:00It is more than just a machine, it is India's warhorse, our steelbird that carried the roar
00:24of victory through the skies for over six decades. On September 26, the MiG-21, India's most trusted
00:32fighter jet, takes its final flight, drawing curtains on an era of glory and grit. Born from
00:39India's strategic embrace with Russia, the MiG-21 was not merely inducted in 1963, it was unleashed.
00:47At a time when American fighters dominated global air power, this Soviet marvel gave India the
00:53cutting edge. It placed the tricolor at the forefront of the Cold War skies, where courage
00:59was tested and destiny is written. In the 1965 war with Pakistan, the MiG-21 ribbed through enemy lines,
01:07challenging Pakistan's stride and crippling its might. And in 1971, when the call came to liberate
01:14Bangladesh, it was the MiG-21 that rained fire, securing India's dominance and rewriting
01:19South Asia's map forever. In Kargil 1999, as soldiers climbed icy cliffs, MiGs provided the
01:28aerial shield, swift, relentless, lethal. Decades has passed, but the warrior still stood tall.
01:36Even in 2019, at Balakot, the MiG-21 roared once again. Squadron leader Abhinandan Vartaman,
01:43flying the upgraded MiG-21 Bison, shot down a Pakistani F-16, proving to the world that age,
01:49does not define power. Courage does. The MiG was no relic. It was still a predator. For generations
01:57of Indian fighter pilots, the MiG-21 was not just an aircraft. It was their first sword,
02:04their training ground, their baptism into the brotherhood of the sky. From rookies to veterans,
02:10it shaped air warriors who carried its spirit into every battle. Now, as the Panthers of No. 23
02:17squadron prepare for their final flight at Chandigarh, the nation salutes its legend. A farewell marked
02:24by Akash Ganga's daring skydivers, a majestic flypast and a water cannon salute. The MiG's last bow
02:32is as grand as its service. History will always remember, India's rise in the skies was written
02:39in the thunder of the MiG-21.
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