Lucknow, Feb 22: Defence Minister George Fernandes today said that the Indian Air Force would start phasing out the oldest of the MiG-21 fighters from next year and the fighting machines would be replaced by the state-of-the-art Sukhoi-30 aircrafts. On the crash in Jamnagar on February 20 which killed five people, Fernandes said that the crash rate of MiGs had come down in the last few years.
''There had been crashes, at time 20 in five years...But the question is being raised when I became the defence minister,'' he said.

He claimed that MiG-21s had been crashing ever since they were bought from the former Soviet Union. He said at times the crash rate of the fighter aircrafts had been 20 in a five-year span.
According to Fernandes, the latest su-30s would replace the MiG-21s as of now. ''modernisation of air force is an expensive exercise. But we are acquiring new equipment...The Sukhoi is considered to be one of the world's best fighter,'' he added.
Commenting on the recent air exercise between the IAF and the United States Air Force over Gwalior, Fernandes said such co-operation was essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the others. ''both the sides benefit out of it,'' he added.
Bureau Report