Years In Service: 1959-Today
Initial Flight: June 16, 1955
The MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter/interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was an airplane that hewed to the classic “perfect is the enemy of good enough” approach. The Americans were trying to create super fighters in small numbers, but the Soviets wanted to fill the sky with thousands of simple, lightweight, reliable jets. After all, that strategy had worked splendidly with the AK-47 rifle.
Aircraft Specifications
Height: 13′ 5″ Wingspan: 23′ 5″ Length: 51′ 7″ Crew: 1 Armament: One 23mm Gsh-23 internal automatic cannon Payload: Up to 4,410 lbs. Thrust: 9,030 lbs. Cruise speed: 570 mph Max Speed: 1,386 mph Ceiling: 59,000 ft.