MIG-21

MiG-21
Croatian Air Force MiG-21bis
Role	Fighter
National origin	Soviet Union
Design group	Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
First flight	14 February 1956 (Ye-2)
Introduction	1959 (MiG-21F)
Status	In active service (see list)
Primary users	Soviet Air Force (historical) Indian Air Force Libyan Air Force
Produced	1959 (MiG-21F) to 1985 (MiG-21bis)
Number built	11,496 (10,645 produced in the USSR, 657 in India, 194 in Czechoslovakia)
Variants	Chengdu J-7

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "Balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek (English: pencil) by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage.

Early versions are considered second-generation jet fighters, while later versions are considered to be third-generation jet fighters. Approximately 60 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations six decades after its maiden flight. The fighter made aviation records. It is the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War, and it was previously the longest production run of a combat aircraft (now exceeded by both the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon).

The MiG-21 jet fighter was a continuation of Soviet jet fighters, starting with the subsonic MiG-15 and MiG-17, and the supersonic MiG-19. A number of experimental Mach 2 Soviet designs were based on nose intakes with either swept-back wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-7, or tailed deltas, of which the MiG-21 would be the most successful.

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