MiG-21s & F-7s Specifications & Capabilities

[GR!FF!N]

It has an Italian Grifo radar & it can also be armed with medium range BVRs.

You should ask USAF why they sent their front line F-22s to practice against PAF F-7 pilots if it offers no benefits to them in this day and age.

Which exercise was this one??plus,I wonder what kind of knowledge us could gain from an early 3rd gen jets..in dogfight,f-22 is far far superior than anything flying in this earth,thanks to its 3d tvc.

 

[Paksanity]

MiG-21 is surprisingly nimble and agile for its age. It is treated with lot of respect in western air forces. If I remember correctly it was first in 'Best ever jet fighter produced' in a Discovery program. It may not be the best now but there is little debate how dangerous it can be if it gets the opportunity. Off course it's best days are behind it now and fighter is being replaced in Pakistan and world over. It doesn't mean from a lethal machine it just turned into crop sprayer.

 

[Windjammer]

@Faiez, I think Alan Warnes had you in mind.

Alan Warnes‏@warnesyworld
And how about this. Met a pilot well into his F-16 Bk 52/MLU conversion course converting from F-7P! That's a MiG-21 to many. What a leap.

 

[maxpayne]

Question: Why are the Pakistani flags painted differently in PAF aircraft? Sometimes the white stripe is on the left and the Moon and star face toward the right (Which is correct), whereas in others the white stripe is on the right which is incorrect! Is this acceptable? Check it out in the images below:

White stripe on right, on flag painted on the tail.


Compare this to the flag on the tail of this F-7 below which is correct.

The Pakistani flag orientation.



So what's going on? Why are flags painted incorrectly on some aircraft? Should that be allowed? Doesn't it show disrespect if a flag of a country is displayed incorrectly?

It is done to show the image of flag on plane. Just like word AMBULANCE is written as its image in ambulances

 

[syedali73]

No one has ever denied that F-7 is a Mig-21 derivative. I spoke to Mr Kaiser Tufail, who was the principle test pilot of F-7PG procurement. As per him, it was as capable as any aircraft from India of the same class. PAF was in possession of Afghan Mig-21s therefore the platform wasn't alien to them.

In-fact PAF pilots are flying MiG-21 for almost 40+ years, as volunteers or on deputation in the air forces of Syria and Egypt, so yes, they are familiar with this type pretty well.

Mr Tufail is right, as capable as the similar types in IAF and with the induction of MiG-29, Su-30, and now Rafale, our F-7s are becoming irrelevant.

 

[Rajput_Pakistani]

Question: Why are the Pakistani flags painted differently in PAF aircraft? Sometimes the white stripe is on the left and the Moon and star face toward the right (Which is correct), whereas in others the white stripe is on the right which is incorrect! Is this acceptable? Check it out in the images below:

White stripe on right, on flag painted on the tail.


Compare this to the flag on the tail of this F-7 below which is correct.

The Pakistani flag orientation.



So what's going on? Why are flags painted incorrectly on some aircraft? Should that be allowed? Doesn't it show disrespect if a flag of a country is displayed incorrectly?

Pakistani flag flies from white towards green portion i.e. mast is always with white portion. On plane tail its the same concept, the flag is shown as flying towards back. Thats why on both sides of tail it is painted as white portion towards front, while green flying away.

 

[MilSpec]

@Horus

F7 PG is still a relevant aircraft, Within a strike package, it still has good utility. I have been a big fan of the Mig 21 Platform over the years, and did get a brief opportunity to work in a team that was overhauling Mig21's for a while, it is THE least fussy platform when it comes to maintenance. Watching a Mig 21 take off is incredible sight to see, the craft is a more or less a rocket strapped with little wings and pilot stuck in the fuselage.

Mig 21's as a second line point defence or a lo-lo element in a strike package is something to look out for, it's small rcs, rate of climb, and it's after burner twr makes it a force to reckon with. It does have some inherent dis-advantages with it's design and vintage, but these disadvantages can be overcome with the right mix of aircraft's in the theater of combat.

If these crafts are in the hands of capable mission planners, these become an exceptional force multipliers. We saw bisons taking out stock F15's in the Gwalior exercise, (although exercise results don't measure up to anything close to real combat), it tells us about the potential and relevance of this platform to date. Fishbeds are also one of the easiest platforms to work on btw.

 

[denel]

@Horus

F7 PG is still a relevant aircraft, Within a strike package, it still has good utility. I have been a big fan of the Mig 21 Platform over the years, and did get a brief opportunity to work in a team that was overhauling Mig21's for a while, it is a least fussy platform when it comes to maintenance. Watching a Mig 21 take off is incredible sight to see, the craft is a more or less a rocket strapped with little wings and pilot stuck in the fuselage.

Mig 21's as a second line point defence or a lo-lo element in a strike package is something to look out for, it's small rcs, rate of climb, and it's after burner twr makes it a force to reckon with. It does have some inherent dis-advantages with it's design and vintage, but these disadvantages can be overcome with the right mix of aircraft's in the theater of combat.

If these crafts are in the hands of capable mission planners, these become an exceptional force multipliers. We saw bisons taking out stock F15's in the Gwalior exercise, (although exercise results don't measure up to anything close to real combat), it tells us about the potential and relevance of this platform to date. Fishbeds are also one of the easiest platforms to work on btw.

concur 100%. The G platform of F-7 has turned it around to another level. An acquintance flies for Namibian air fore the F-7N and he was of same mind set. It is an workhorse and really easy to maintain vs the older Soviet equivalent. Yes the challenge is the nose code which radar and additional avionics. Still for a country like Namibia it is perfectly suited.

A friend of family in Botswana came from Indian AF around 25yrs back when IAF was training Botswana AF; that time they just had older subsonic jets. He was narrating in a very very funny way when he took off, it was like a smal fly vs a hornet e.g. mig21 built in Nasik if I recall correct. He thought something was wrong with the plane

 

[Basel]

The F-7P is a potent defence fighter while the PG is a much more capable machine, sometimes described as poor man's F-16 and not without reason, apart from BVR capability, unlike other versions it has a double cranked delta feature with leading edge slats giving it outstanding manoeuvrability. Considering India still operates a large quantity of the likes of MiG-21s and Jaguars, F-7 is an ideal platform to counter these adversaries.

@Pulsar, It's very simple, the flag is painted in the mirror image.

If PGs are upgraded with latest IR guided missiles with HMD like R-74 / Latest version of R-73 or A-Darter then they will become very lethal in point defense role which will remain relevant in Indo-Pak war scenario.

Although if MICA-IR & RF can be included they will change this birds capability altogether.

 

[SipahSalar]

F-7's. They are the scars on our Air Force, scars from the wounds we suffered in 90's. The lost decade. To be honest, they are not very capable, PAF was scratching the bottom of the barrel when it was forced to acquire them. And it taught PAF an important lesson. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. There would have been no JF-17 without F-7s. That will always be their biggest contribution.

PAF and Martin Baker ejection seats, love at first sight lol.

Question: Why are the Pakistani flags painted differently in PAF aircraft? Sometimes the white stripe is on the left and the Moon and star face toward the right (Which is correct), whereas in others the white stripe is on the right which is incorrect! Is this acceptable? Check it out in the images below:

White stripe on right, on flag painted on the tail.


Compare this to the flag on the tail of this F-7 below which is correct.

The Pakistani flag orientation.



So what's going on? Why are flags painted incorrectly on some aircraft? Should that be allowed? Doesn't it show disrespect if a flag of a country is displayed incorrectly?

In all air forces, flags are painted in such a way that they appear to be moving against the wind. The Indian Flag has the Chakra and the colors are painted in verticle lines, so they will appear the same facing either direction.

 

[Sage]

I don't know whether I have shared this story or not but I am narrating it as it was ...While working on a position in Pakistan, Once I was given a PA (Personal Assistant) who happened to be a retired PAF Photographer name Ghafoor Chacha ...He used to make me the best coffee and was expert in almost every task i ever assigned to him ...He once told me that' One day some Chinese officials come to Chaklala AFB and they along with PAF officers were to see the live demonstration of F-7 VS F-16 in a dog fight ....according to him...F-7 got F-16 twice and PAF officers secretly conveyed to the concerned department to damage the HUD video ...The PAF officers were of the opinion that the Chinese might ask for a higher price if they would come to know that F-7 beat F-16 twice ...Chinese never got the film and somehow they were not believing that how come F-7 could not film anything ...and they were told that F-16 beat the shit outta F-7

 

[niaz]

F-7 was a very competent fighter in 60's & 70's and in Pakistan’s scenario, an old fighter is better than no fighter. However, let us not get carried away. No matter how much capable F-7PG may be; it is after all an updated MIG-21 which first flew in 1956 and was inducted in 1959.

Improvement in avionics no doubt enhance performance but there is a design limit to the basic airframe. Any 4th generation aircraft such as F-16, F-18, Mig-29, SU-27, F-15, SAAB Grippen etc. would wipe the floor with any 50’s fighter. It would be no match even with likes of JF-17 let alone state of the art fighters such as Typhoon or Rafael.

Sooner we get sufficient JF-17’s to replace F-7’s the better.

 

[airmarshal]

Even India doesn't respect their flag, what kind of flag is that? Belfast or Ireland or Somali?

In India as well as in Pakistan, a lot of markings,documents, systems and rules of governance derived from British Raj. The orientation of Indian flag colors is exactly the same as colors on RAF jets. When we got independence, we had Spitfires and Hawker Fury. They had British flag colors painted in same orientation as Indian colors.

Also, our Air Force flag has four quadrant with top left quadrant having Air Force flag or emblem. So is Navy's.

Do you know why four quadrants? The English flag is a representation of St George's cross (White flag with red horizontal cross). With one quadrant of the four created by the cross on flag being represented by RAF or RN emblem. Without ever thinking the RAF and RN flags had a religious orientation, we adopted what British left for us. In some ways, this represents our slave mindset. I m talking about both India and Pakistan here.

 

[krash]

Question: Why are the Pakistani flags painted differently in PAF aircraft? Sometimes the white stripe is on the left and the Moon and star face toward the right (Which is correct), whereas in others the white stripe is on the right which is incorrect! Is this acceptable? Check it out in the images below:

White stripe on right, on flag painted on the tail.


Compare this to the flag on the tail of this F-7 below which is correct.

The Pakistani flag orientation.



So what's going on? Why are flags painted incorrectly on some aircraft? Should that be allowed? Doesn't it show disrespect if a flag of a country is displayed incorrectly?

Two wrongs don't make a right!!

Does that mean a country's flag can even be painted upside down with no questions asked? Strange.

The flags are painted on the vertical stabilizer as if fluttering towards the rear of the aircraft, as the wind would make them (white part towards the front). The port side is painted with the front of the Flag while the starboard is painted with the inverse. It's as if the the flag is actually hoisted on the plane: imagine how you'd see the flag from the port and starboard side.

The explanation is pretty obvious.

 

[Storm Force]

Good plane in a war fought in 1980.

Waste of human life and cost i n 2015 onwards.

Same for the one hindered fifty mirages you deploy . Great htorical plane. But completely out of place todsy