NEW DELHI: India retired its last fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets on Friday (Sep 26), ending more than six decades of service with an aircraft once celebrated for its combat prowess but later derided as a “flying coffin” due to frequent crashes. The phaseout underscores the urgency for the Indian air force to expand and modernise its air fleet to counter potential threats on two fronts from its archrivals China and Pakistan. The decommissioning leaves the air force with 29 fighter