Its nicknames include: "Balalaika", because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name; "Ołówek", Polish for "pencil", due to the shape of its fuselage,[2] and "Én Bạc", meaning "silver swallow", in Vietnamese.

However, the characteristic layout with the shock cone and front air intake did not see widespread use outside the USSR and ultimately proved to have limited development potential, mainly due to the small available space for the radar.

These had an increased range of 250 km (155 mi) compared to the MiG-21SM, but at the cost of worsening all other performance figures, such as a lower service ceiling and slower time to altitude.

While technologically inferior to the more advanced fighters it often faced, low production and maintenance costs made it a favorite of nations buying Eastern Bloc military hardware.

[20] The expansion of the IAF MiG-21 fleet marked a developing India-Soviet Union military partnership, which enabled India to field a formidable air force to counter Chinese and Pakistani threats.

[40] Former MiG-17 pilot Nguyen Nhat Chieu and his wingman Tran Ngoc Siu intercepted USAF F-105Ds while on CAP duty over Phuc Yen Airbase (a.k.a.

Tomes with a salvo from Tran's UB-16-57/S-5M unguided rocket-equipped MiG-21, while flight leader Nguyen was unable to establish a lock on another, wildly-evading F-105 with his R-3S AAM; this was the first instance of a VPAF MiG-21 shooting down a piloted enemy aircraft in the Vietnam War.

[42] However, this is not the impression British author Roger Boniface got when he interviewed Pham Ngoc Lan and ace Nguyễn Nhật Chiêu (who scored victories flying both the MiG-17 and MiG-21).

The VPAF flew their interceptors with guidance from ground controllers, who positioned the MiGs in ambush battle stations to make "one pass, then haul ass" attacks.

[50] The USAF and the US Navy had high expectations of the F-4 Phantom, assuming that their massive firepower, best available on-board radar, highest speed and acceleration properties, coupled with new tactics, would provide an advantage over the MiGs.

One MiG-21 was shot down on 21 February 1972 by a USAF F-4 Phantom based at Udorn RTAFB, Thailand and piloted by Major Lodge with 1st Lt Roger Locher as his weapon systems officer (WSO).

[60] On 26 December 1972, just two days after tail gunner Albert Moore downed a MiG-21, a VPAF MiG-21MF (number 5121)[61] from the 921st Fighter Regiment, flown by Major Phạm Tuân over Hanoi, claimed the first aerial combat kill of a B-52.

1863) out of Syria's Al-Dumayr Air Base with a fellow PAF pilot, was on aerial patrol near the Golan Heights when he spotted two Israeli Mirage-IIICJs intruding in Syrian airspace.

According to modern Pakistani sources, Alvi and his flight leader engaged them, and after a brief dogfight, shot down one of the Mirages, flown by Captain M. Lutz.

According to the IDF, these new aircraft shot down 24 Syrian MiG-21s over this period, though Syria did claim five IAF kills by MiG-21s armed with outdated K-13 missiles; Israel denied that it had suffered any losses.

[86][87] In the largest air battle since the Korean War, one Israeli F-15 was heavily damaged by a Syrian MiG-21 firing a R-60 (missile), but was able to make back to base for repairs.

The MiG, registration number 2271, was likely downed by heavy machine gun fire on takeoff or landing at Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase, under siege by rebels.

[90] On 10 November 2014, Syrian Air Force MiG-21bis number 2204 was shot down, and its pilot killed, by rebels either using a MANPADS or antiaircraft guns, near the town of Sabburah, 45 km east of Hama Airbase where it was likely based.

679 squadron, operating out of Hama Airbase and piloted by Col. Mohammad Sawfan, was shot down by Ahrar al-Sham rebels, crashing in Turkish territory near the border.

[96][97] On 29 August 2014, an LNA MiG-21bis, serial number 208, after a bombing mission over Derna, crashed in Bayda according to an official statement as a result of a technical failure of the plane, while Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries claimed it was shot down.

[108] Despite extensive losses to man-portable air-defense systems, MiG-21s were instrumental during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale; Cuban pilots became accustomed to flying up to three sorties a day.

[109] On 6 November 1981, a Mirage F1CZ achieved South Africa's first confirmed air-to-air kill since the Korean War when it destroyed Cuban Lieutenant Danacio Valdez's MiG-21MF with 30mm cannon fire.

The second aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Raciel Marrero Rodriguez, could not detect the Mirage's proximity until it had entered his turn radius and was perforated by Rankin's autocannon.

[109] [dead link‍] On 14 December 1988, an Angolan Air Force MiG-21bis, serial number C340, strayed off course and being low on fuel executed an emergency landing on an open field in South West Africa, modern-day Namibia, where it was seized by local authorities.

Since Angola did not request its return after the South African Border War, the MiG was restored by Atlas Aviation and until September 2017 it was displayed at Swartkops Air Force Base, Pretoria.

[117] Croatia acquired three MiG-21s in 1992 through defections by Croatian pilots serving with the JNA,[118] two of which were lost in subsequent actions – one to Serbian air defenses, the other a friendly fire accident.

The only air-to-air action for Croatian MiGs was an attempt by two of them to intercept Soko J-22 Oraos of Republika Srpska's air force on a ground attack mission on 7 August 1995.

[116] The type continued to serve with the Serbian Air Force until 25 September 2020, when the country's last active MiG-21 crashed in the village of Brasina, near Mali Zvornik, killing both pilots.

According to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there were 44 privately owned MiG-21s in the U.S. in 2012[174] By 2013, Draken International had acquired 30 MiG-21bis/UM aircraft, mostly from Poland.

[176] In 2012, Premier Space Systems in Hillsboro, Oregon, US, conducted flight tests for NanoLaunch, a project to launch suborbital sounding rockets from MiG-21s flying over the Pacific Ocean.