A MIG-21 aircraft flies past during the inauguration of the 12th edition of AERO India 2019 air show at Yelahanka airbase in Bengaluru.

In this Aug 1, 2003 file photo the then defence minister George Fernandes is seen inside the cockpit of an MiG-21 after completing a sortie, at Ambala Air Force Station.

An Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft on static display at a theme park, in Dibrugarh.

Charred remains of the MiG - 27 aircraft that crashes at Devariya village near Jodhpur.

Debris after an MiG-21 fighter jet crash, killing an Indian Air Force pilot, in Kangra.

Debris after an MiG-21 fighter jet crash, killing an Indian Air Force pilot, in Kangra.

Workers clean a MiG 27 fighter jet used in the Kargil war at War Memorial site at Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman waves from the cockpit of an MiG 29K during the operational manoeuvres of the Western Fleet ships, conducted by the Indian Navy, in Panaji.

Fire fighter try to douse a MiG-29 K fighter jet of the Indian Navy that veered off the runway and crashed at Goa’s Dabolim Airport. The trainee pilot managed to eject safely fro...

Security personnel standing near the MiG-29 K fighter jet of the navy which overshot the runway and crashed at Dabolim Airport in Goa.

A MiG-29 on board the INS Vikramaditya which anchored in Mumbai harbour ahead of the Navy Day.

MiG-29 jet fighters of Russian aerobatic team Strizhi (Swifts) perform during a ceremony in Batajnica, military airport near Belgrade. Russia has formally handed over six MiG-29 fi...

MiG-35 on display at MAKS 2017 airshow in Zhukovsky, Russia.

MiG-35 on display at MAKS 2017 airshow in Zhukovsky, Russia. Russia is keen to sell these aircrafts to India.

Indian Air Force's MIG-29K Fulcrum flies over US Navy ship Nimitz as part of the tri-nation Malabar 2017 exercise in Bay of Bengal near Chennai coast.

The wreckage of the IAF's MIG-23 trainer aircraft that crashed at Balesar near Jodhpur. Both pilots of the aircraft ejected safely.