CHANDIGARH (India) — Russian-built MiG-21s flew for the final time today, marking the end of an era for the country’s first supersonic fighter jet — lauded for its valour but tarnished by a legacy of some 400 crashes.

Crowds cheered as officials staged a grand farewell for the final two MiG-21 squadrons, totalling around 36 aircraft, at an air force base in the northern city of Chandigarh.

The send-off came a day after New Delhi signed a US$7 billion (RM29.55 billion) deal to acquire 97 domestically designed and built Tejas jets as it seeks to modernise its Soviet-era fleet.

The farewell ceremony included a mock dogfight between Russian MiGs and a colourful display by the Surya Kiran aerobatic team.

The retired jets will likely be put up for public display, though the government has yet to announce any plans.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, senior air force officials, including veterans who piloted the MiG-21, watched as the storied aircraft made their last pass.

First inducted in the 1960s, India operated a staggering 874 MiG-21s.

Plans to retire them in the 1990s were repeatedly delayed amid local production setbacks, bureaucratic obstacles and corruption scandals.

“MiG-21’s legacy is undeniable. It was a capable — if flawed — fighter that formed the Indian Air Force’s backbone for decades,” former Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar told AFP on the sidelines of the event.

He credited a key MiG-21 bombing campaign for hastening India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

But age caught up with the Soviet-era jet.