If the success of a fighter is judged by service longevity and numbers produced then the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 could be the most successful fighter of the past 60 years.The first production MiG-21F (NATO reporting name Fishbed) entered service with the Soviet Air Force in the latter months of 1958 after a development programme that had started in 1953. In the aftermath of the Korean conflict, the Soviet government had issued a requirement for an aircraft capable of reaching Mach 2 at an altitude of 20,000m (65,617ft) with gun armament. The initial MiG-21F was fitted with two 30mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-30 cannons in the forward fuselage, but infrared air-to-air missiles were soon added. Production continued until 1985 and approximately 13,500 MiG-21s served in the air forces of more than 50 nations, this figure including 851 aircraft built under licence in India and Czechoslovakia.
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