- Pakistan is set to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after the Pakistan Air Force violated the Indian airspace and downed a MiG 21 ‘Bison’.
- Commander will be released under third Geneva Convention (1949) which provides for (a) protection for Prisoners of War (PoWs) (b) defines the rights of PoWs and (c)lays down rules on how they are to be treated and released.
- The MiG-21’s full name is the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. It was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau of the Soviet Union in the 1950s.It is one of the most used fighter aircraft in aviation history.
- After the Soviet Air Forces and the Russian Air Force, the MiG-21 was most prominently used by the Indian Air Force. The IAF purchased its first MiG-21 in 1961, under an agreement which gave India full transfer of technology and the rights to build the aircraft in India. It became the first supersonic fighter operated by the IAF.A supersonic fighter is an aircraft able to fly faster than the speed of sound.
- The MiG-21 FL variant was designed specifically to meet India’s requirements. The first MiG-21 built entirely in India rolled out in 1970. Around the turn of the century, IAF MiG-21s were upgraded, and the variant was called the MiG-21 Bison.
