The latest MiG-21 crash has reignited the debate over retiring old IAF hardware that has outlived its usefulness. The death of three civilians in a MiG-21 crash during a routine training sortie in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh district begs the question: how many more lives will be lost before the Indian Air Force's (IAF) fighter aircraft is permanently grounded? Unlike the two pilots who were killed when a trainer version of a MiG-21 Bison crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer district in July last year, the pilot escaped with minor injuries.

The ageing MiG-21 fleet is set to be phased out by 2025, but it is unrealistic to expect that the interim period will be incident-free for both pilots and civilians unless accountability is established and exemplary action is taken whenever such a crash occurs.

The MiG-21, which India first purchased from the Soviet Union a year after the 1962 China debacle, has gone through several variants over the past six decades, all of which have been manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), India's premier public-sector aerospace and defence equipment manufacturing company. The sporadic crashes are primarily the result of technical flaws or in-flight human error. A thorough investigation is required for every technical fault that causes losses in both human and monetary terms to determine how and why HAL failed to ensure the airworthiness of the MiG-21.

The slow progress of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program, which was launched in 1983, is a major reason why the MiG-21 is being used far beyond its useful life. In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha earlier this year, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence flagged a ‘considerable delay' in HAL's supply of 40 TEJAS Light Combat Aircraft. Failure to meet deadlines has widened the demand-supply gap, resulting in deficiencies in the IAF's fighter aircraft inventory.

HAL and other stakeholders owe an explanation for the inefficiency that has plagued this high-stakes project. The excruciatingly slow pace at which MiG squadrons are retired does not bode well for the IAF's combat readiness, which is already suffering from a fighter squadrons' shortage. It is critical to accelerate Tejas aircraft production so that the MiG phase-out occurs sooner rather than later. The efforts thus be pushed at more speed to save pilots lives and collateral damages and of course air defence's reputation. Sooner the better.