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At least 110 MiG-21 jets were upgraded in 2006 to MiG-21 Bison. The upgrades include equipping it with powerful multi-mode radar, better avionics and communications systems. 
Its air-to-air combat effectiveness also improved considerably after it was fitted with the R-73 Archer short range and R-77 medium range anti-aircraft missiles.
The MiG-21 is not a very large aircraft. In high speed, it has good chances of sneaking up to enemy planes from low altitude. It has a delta wing, similar to the Mirage 2000 and LCA Tejas, that makes it highly manoeuvrable in dogfights.
MiG-21 Bison pilots also get helmet-mounted sight, worn by pilots of other advanced jets like the Mirage 2000, the aircraft that dropped laser-guided bombs on a camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot inside Pakistan
It is a single engine, single seater multirole fighter aircraft. It has a maximum speed of 2,230 km/hr and carries one 23mm twin-barrel cannon with four R-60 close combat missiles.
Unroll this thread please @threadreaderapp
The R-73, short-range missile, can be controlled by a helmet-mounted sight, allowing the pilot to look to his right or left and launch a missile that will turn in the direction the pilot’s head is pointing.
Russian aircraft including the MiG-29 had a helmet-mounted site (HMS) called the Shchel-3UM. This system was integrated into India’s MiG-21 Bison’s in 2006.
In fact, the Indian MiG 21s received a number of upgrades – new cockpit displays and electronics, improved engines and even a coating on the aircraft to reduce radar signature.
