The MiG-21 saw frequent action in the Vietnam War and was one of the most advanced aircraft at the time. However, many North Vietnamese aces preferred flying the MiG-17, due to the high wing loading on the MiG-21's. With high wing loading, the MiG-21 was not as agile or manueverable as the MiG-17. Employing a delta wing configuration, it was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor in a single aircraft. It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 speed using a relatively low-powered afterburning turbojet, and is thus comparable to the American F-104 Starfighter and French Dassault Mirage III.

It was also used extensively in the Middle East conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s, by the air forces of Egypt, Syria and Iraq against Israel. The plane was outclassed by the more modern F-15 Eagle (designed primarily to combat the Soviet MiG-25 "Foxbat"), which was acquired by Israel in the 1970s. The Indian Air Force has been one of the largest users of this plane after it was used in the 1971 war with good results. The war also witnessed the first supersonic air combat in the subcontinent when a MiG-21 shot down a F-104 Starfighter. It was also used as late as 1999 in the Kargil War with mixed results, and employed during the early stages of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but was soon outclassed by the newer MiG-23 and MiG-27.

Due to the lack of available information, early details of the MiG-21 were often confused with those of the similar Sukhoi fighters also under development. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-1961 describes the "Fishbed" as a Sukhoi design, and uses an illustration of the Su-9 "Fishpot."

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale Vietnamese Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PMF "Fishbed" fighter that was attached to the 927th Fighter Regiment during 1979 then deployed to Kep Air Base, Vietnam, during 1979. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-inches
Length: 3-3/4-inches

Release Date: June 2023

Historical Account: "For the People" - The Vietnam People's Air Force (formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, Vietnamese: Quan chung Phong khong - Khong quan (PKKQ), lit. 'Service of Air Defence - Air Force') or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, Khong quan Viet Nam (KQVN)), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and absorbed the South Vietnamese Air Force following the reunification of Vietnam in 1975 and being one of three main branches of the Vietnam People's Army, which is under the management of the Ministry of National Defence. The main mission of the VPAF is the defense of Vietnamese airspace and the provision of air cover for operations of the People's Army of Vietnam.