SUPERJETSME2D·SI SUPERSSJETSCARSTANKSFORCESSHIPS
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM "Mongol-B"
← MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich · Variant 5 of 7

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM "Mongol-B"

The tandem two-seat trainer that taught generations of pilots to fly the Fishbed · MiG-21U in service 1962 · UM from 1971

The first two-seat MiG-21U, based on the F-13, appeared in 1961–62, followed by the MiG-21US with blown flaps in 1966. The MiG-21UM (izdeliye 69) was the final trainer, bringing the cockpits and avionics up to MiG-21MF standard. It had no internal cannon. India designated it Type 69.

All the two-seaters were built in Tbilisi, which produced about 1,840 of them between 1962 and 1985. Yugoslavia received about 35 UMs from 1977, and its successors flew them for decades: Serbia flew its UMs until 2020 and formally retired the MiG-21 in 2021, and Croatia used its MiG-21UMD trainers, upgraded in Romania in 2003–04, until November 2024.

Romania converted 14 of its UMs into the LanceR B trainer as part of the LanceR programme of 1995–2002.

Gallery
Serbian Air Force MiG-21UM "16178" of the 101st Fighter Squadron in flight at the Batajnica air show, 2012
Serbian Air Force MiG-21UM "16178" of the 101st Fighter Squadron in flight at the Batajnica air show, 2012claudiu_ne2000 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Croatian Air Force MiG-21UMD in its red-and-white checkerboard scheme making a slow pass, August 2010
Croatian Air Force MiG-21UMD in its red-and-white checkerboard scheme making a slow pass, August 2010Jerry Gunner · CC BY 2.0
Hungarian Air Force MiG-21UM "18" of the 47th Regiment from Pápa at the Zeltweg air show, June 1997
Hungarian Air Force MiG-21UM "18" of the 47th Regiment from Pápa at the Zeltweg air show, June 1997Rob Schleiffert · CC BY-SA 2.0
Same family

Other MiG-21 variants

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13 "Fishbed-C"
◎ MIKOYAN-GUREVICH
Mikoyan-Gurevich

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13 "Fishbed-C"

Soviet UnionThe first mass-produced MiG-21 — a clear-weather day fighter with one cannon and two heat-seeking missiles
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF / PFM "Fishbed-D/F"
◎ MIKOYAN-GUREVICH
Mikoyan-Gurevich

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF / PFM "Fishbed-D/F"

Soviet UnionThe second generation — a radar in the intake cone made the MiG-21 an all-weather interceptor
Chengdu J-7 / F-7
◎ CHENGDU
Mikoyan-Gurevich

Chengdu J-7 / F-7

Soviet UnionChina's MiG-21 — copied from the F-13, developed for half a century and exported across Asia and Africa
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF "Fishbed-J"
◎ MIKOYAN-GUREVICH
Mikoyan-Gurevich

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF "Fishbed-J"

Soviet UnionThe third generation — a stronger R-13 engine and the cannon back inside the fuselage
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis "Fishbed-L/N"
◎ MIKOYAN-GUREVICH
Mikoyan-Gurevich

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis "Fishbed-L/N"

Soviet UnionThe last and most powerful Soviet MiG-21 — the R-25 engine gave it a climb rate close to the new fourth-generation fighters
MiG-21 LanceR (Romania)
◎ MIG-21
Mikoyan-Gurevich

MiG-21 LanceR (Romania)

Soviet UnionRomania's Israeli-upgraded MiG-21 — a glass cockpit, Western weapons and NATO compatibility in a 1970s airframe