Chandigarh, February 23: Hoping to encourage the youth to join the Indian Air Force, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation will install a decommissioned MiG-21 fighter aircraft and a helicopter at two public places by the end of February.
The corporation has yet to decide the locations to install the aircraft, and will take a call on them after the Rose Festival is over on February 25. They are most likely going to be set up at the entry and exit points of the city.
Mayor Davesh Moudgil said, “In line with my goal to encourage the youth to join the air force, I had been holding meetings with the officers of 12 Wing, Air Force Station, Chandigarh, for the past two years. They have now agreed to provide a decommissioned MiG-21 and helicopter.”
“The air force will maintain the aircraft, while the MC will provide space and security for them,” he added.
The department of aerospace engineering, Punjab Engineering College, will also set up a decommissioned MiG-21 on the college campus within a month.
Department head Rakesh Kumar said, “We have received the engine of the aircraft, and will get the body within a week. Besides helping inspire and educate our students, it will be an attraction for visitors.”
The tricity already has a decommissioned air force helicopter on PEC campus, a tank at Leisure Valley in Sector 10 and twin tanks at the entrance of Chandimandir Cantonment in Panchkula.
The most widely produced supersonic jet fighter in aviation history, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a single engine, single seater, multi-role fighter/ground attack aircraft of Russian origin, which forms the backbone of the Indian Air Force. It has a maximum speed of 2230 km per hour (Mach 2.1) and carries one 23mm twin barrel cannon with four R-60 close combat missiles.
Source Hindustan Times
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