MiG-21 LanceR-C - Romania

The prototype MiG-21 first flew in 1956, with the operational fighter entering service with the Soviet Union in 1959. Since then over 60 nations have operated the 11,000 that were produced, with over 2,000 also being licence built in China as the Chengdu J-7.

Romania is one of a handful of nations that continue to operate the supersonic fighter and who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, faced a shortage of spare parts out of Russia. This precipitated the modernisation of the Romanian fleet, with a total of 111 aircraft being upgraded between 1995 and 2002 and being given the LanceR designation. The only other European operator is Serbia, with just three remaining in their fleet as of 2017.

The LanceR-C is the air defence variant of the fleet and is the type that Romania will be sending to the 2018 Air Tattoo.