The MiG-21 was Mach-2 capable and had a long production run, from 1959 to 1985. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the MiG-21 Fishbed was updated and modified by companies in India, Israel, and Romania, and the Chinese copied it.
One hundred and twenty years ago this month — at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in December 1903 — two bicycle mechanics from Ohio named Orville and Wilbur Wright staged the
Despite some of the improvements the MiG-21 featured, the fighter had a pretty poor air-to-air kill tally. During Operation Desert Storm, Iraq lost four Fishbeds to American fighters.