The MiG-21, NATO Codename 'Fishbed,' is a short-range fighter-interceptor, and the first Soviet combat aircraft capable of flying faster than Mach 2. Work on the program to create a light 2nd generation front line fighter to replace the MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters had started in 1954. The MiG-21 was designed in the months following the Korean War. Like its contemporary, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, it was designed based on the lessons learned during the war. Several prototypes were developed and flown, resulting in the Ye-6/1, which first took off on May 28, 1958. The third prototype, designated Ye-6/3, set two world speed records on October 31, 1959, reaching 2,388 kph. Today, the MiG-21 is the most produced fighter aircraft in the world, with estimates of the total number of planes at 8- 10,000 units. More than 30 countries have flown the MiG-21 over the past 40 years, and it is still in service around the world. It has been flown, or even produced, in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, East Germany, Hungary, India, Iraq, North Korea, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Syria, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia, to name just a few. Through the years the MiG-21 has also been used as an airborne testbed for advanced systems, including ejection seats and engine types.

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The airframe has been modified to fulfill a number of different roles. For example, two altered MiG-21's were fitted with a scaled-down version of the Tupolev Tu-144 Mach commercial airliner's airfoil, in place of the standard MiG-21 fighter wing assembly. The first two-seat version of the Fishbed, NATO-code named "Mongol," appeared in 1963. Although normally flown unarmed, the Mongol MiG-21 can carry an internal 23mm cannon and two air-to-air missiles. One of the aircraft's most interesting features is the periscope mirror located on the back canopy. This allows the instructor to view over the forward cockpit to see where the aircraft is headed during ground operations, take-offs and landings.