Key Points – The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 “Fishbed,” one of the Cold War’s most iconic and widely produced supersonic fighter jets (appx 11,000 units), entered service in 1959. -Designed as ...

MiG-21 Fishbed Flaws. In spite of its speed and nimbleness, ... For starters there was the near-useless onboard radar, as only a small dish would fit into the jet’s airflow-slowing nose cone.

China’s F-7 is a much-improved MiG-21 with better pilot visibility, a locally-produced engine and some Western-made avionics. But the F-7 still suffers from a lack of space in the nose for a ...