On December 1, Croatia finally withdrew its remaining MiG-21s from the active air policing mission. Hungary and Italy will now temporarily ensure the protection of Croatian airspace until the end of 2025, after which the growing fleet of second-hand French Dassault Rafale fighter jets (seven of the twelve aircraft ordered have now been delivered) will take over this role.
Croatia was the last European bastion of the type. Romania (-> Romania’s current military procurements at a glance), another major MiG-21 operator with its own LanceR modification, has already decommissioned the type in May 2023. The Czech MiG-21s even went out of service as early as 2005 – and some of them to Africa. And an entire tranche of the Polish MiG-21s was sold to US hostile companies. In Croatia, the remaining operational “fishbeds” (NATO-code) are now completing their remaining flying hours.
“Jet legend” of the Cold War
The aircraft made its maiden flight on February 14, 1955 and went on to become not only a symbol of Russian fighter aircraft, but also a symbol of air combat in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa for decades. Series production began in Gorky in the fall of 1959, and the first aircraft were delivered to the Soviet Air Force in March 1960. They then experienced their baptism of fire in 1967 in the Middle East and Vietnam.
With around 10,300 units produced, the MiG-21 is the most-built supersonic aircraft in history and one of the most-built fighter planes since the Second World War. Second World War. It was manufactured in 57 years of production, comprises more than 15 versions in four generations (e.g. -F, -MF, -bis, -UM) and at times served in around 50 air forces on four continents. No other fighter aircraft was ever so widely used and remained in service for so long.
Several hundred MiG-21s and the Chinese J-7/F-7P variants are still in service today and form part of the inventory of 17 non-European air forces. With the imminent retirement of the MiG-21 in Croatia, only a few Soviet-era fighter aircraft remain in service in Europe: MiG-29s in Bulgaria, Serbia and Poland and Su-22s in Poland. However, these are gradually being replaced by modern models such as the F-16/70, Korean FA-50 and Dassault Rafale.
Special relationship with Austria
The Croatian MiG-21s were presumably procured from Ukraine in the early 1990s during the break-up of Yugoslavia and the subsequent war of independence, bypassing the UN embargo. Know-how from the former GDR also played a role in this. In addition, deserters from the Yugoslav People’s Army (JRV) of Croatian descent helped to strengthen the Croatian air force, including the famous case of Rudolf Perešin.
On October 25, 1991, Perešin flew over the border in his MiG-21 and landed in Klagenfurt – a highly symbolic act for the Croatian resistance. In a politically controversial decision, allegedly on the initiative of the then Foreign Minister Alois Mock, Perešin was allowed to leave Austria just four days later to join the Croatian military. On May 2, 1995, he was killed during a mission near Bosanska Gradiška when his plane was hit by Serbian anti-aircraft fire.
Belgrade demanded the surrender of its aircraft in harsh demarches, Croatia asked Austria just as urgently not to do so. Probably unaware of the exact version of the MiG-21, Andreas Khol – then foreign policy spokesman for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) – called for the plane to be prevented from “dropping bombs on women and children in Croatia again”. If necessary, its “take-off towards Serbia must be prevented with a human chain”.
However, this was not necessary, as Austria’s government decided to drag the matter out anyway. As Croatia had meanwhile also registered claims to the aircraft, a total of four ministries initiated investigations, expert opinions and discussions on the subject under international law. In a radio interview at the time, Chancellor Franz Vranitzky said the following sentence, which was not only significant for this case: “We are Austrians and therefore responsible for ‘Austrian solutions’.”
The MiG-21R reconnaissance aircraft (it arrived without a camera container) was subsequently stored at the Army Ammunition Depot and stood in front of the Museum of Military History (HGM) in 2002, -> Director Hoffmann: “Things are looking up at the HGM”) and later at the GFL Museum (now HGM) in Zeltweg. As recently as May 2018, during a visit to Zagreb, Croatian counterpart Damir Krstičević asked the then Minister of Defense Mario Kunasek to ask Austria to consider returning the aircraft – for the new Croatia, the aircraft is a “cult object” and the Air Force Academy bears Perešin’s name. The request was granted on May 6. 2019 was granted. Today, the aircraft is taken from the Croatian Military Museum to the static display for air shows.
