The MiG-21 originated with an official request from the Soviet
authorities in 1954 for a light, high-performance (Mach 2 at 20 000 m)
frontline fighter to protect military and production installations from
potential raids by American bombers. Built for almost half a century in
twenty or so different versions, in four successive generations, the
"Fishbed" (its NATO codename) was not only the jet which was built in
the largest numbers in the whole of aviation history, but also the
aircraft which was built in greatest numbers since the end of the Second
World War, all types and all countries included. Used by fifty or so air
forces on four of the five continents, the MiG-21 took part in most of
the major conflicts during the four last decades, from the Six-Day War
in 1967 to the Balkans in 1999.
At the present time more than a thousand examples of this fighter, of
which a large number were built in China (Shenyang F-7 and J-7) are
still in service, with their career continuing thanks to modernization
programs for the surviving aircraft which have enabled them to pass
cheerfully into the 21st Century.