It started with a sole aircraft in 1992, but since then the Croatian Air Force MiG-21 fleet has ballooned to a robust 39. It hasn’t been an easy ride, as Vladimir Trendafilovski discovers
The Knights emblem found on the nose of the MiG-21 is a combination of the old 21 ELZ/EBA and 22 ELZ/EBA motifs
Morana Bencal/MORH
MiG-21bisD s/n 117 and 118 in a dramatic takeoff as a pair with full afterburner on during the air-to-ground training in September 2020. Both carry four 16-shot UB-16-57UMP-73 rocket pods under their wings, but interestingly, there is nothing in them
All images by Chris Lofting unless stated
With the third decade of the 21st century upon us, Croatia is still flying the Soviet MiG-21 Fishbed, the delta-winged icon of the Cold War era. There are just two European NATO air forces continuing to operate the legendary jet – the other being Romania with its Israeli-modified MiG-21 LanceR Cs.
