Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

what is it?

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. 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, and "Én Bạc", meaning "silver swallow", in Vietnamese. Approximately 60 countries across four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations seven decades after its maiden flight.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 7.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 2,175 km/htop speed
• range 660 kmwithout refuelling
• size 8,800 kgmax take-off weight
• built 11,496made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 70 years ago, in 1956.
• 🏎️Top speed is 16.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.8 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🏔️Can fly 2.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1956-02-14

introduced

1959

status

still flying

number built

11,496

role

fighter and interceptor aircraft

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AERO Vodochody Aerospace, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, Sokol, Dux Factory

engines

1× Tumansky R-25-300 / Tumansky R-25

crew

1

length

14.7 m

wingspan

7.2 m

height

4.1 m

max take-off weight

8,800 kg

top speed

2,175 km/h

cruise speed

1,000 km/h

range

660 km

ceiling

17,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family