Netflix’s The Last Salute: A Love Letter to MiG-21, which released on Wednesday, looks back at MiG-21’s 62-year journey with the Indian Air Force (IAF), with veterans recalling some of the most defining moments of their careers. Among them are memories from the 1999 Kargil War, when MiG-21s were deployed as part of Operation Safed Sagar.

Operation Safed Sagar saw the IAF conduct air operations in the extremely challenging terrain of Kargil, including high-altitude bombing and photo-reconnaissance missions. The No. 17 Golden Arrows squadron, which operated MiG-21s, played a key role in these operations.

In the documentary, former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, a MiG-21 pilot who commanded the Golden Arrows during the war, and other Air Force personnel recall what it took to fly the aircraft in conditions where altitude, terrain and darkness posed extraordinary challenges.

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MWO PK Pandey recalls moving the MiG-21 unit for the war

MWO PK Pandey, who worked as a MiG-21 technician, recalled being posted in Chabua in Assam when the Kargil conflict broke out.

“During the Kargil War, I was posted in Chabua, which falls in the Eastern Sector. We received a message that we had to move. Whenever an operation or war takes place, we move wherever the action is unfolding, and we have very little time.”

“We had to take all our equipment, prepare all the aircraft and move within 24 to 36 hours. We reached there and carried out the operation.”

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BS Dhanoa recalls flying MiG-21 at 14,000-15,000 feet

BS Dhanoa shared that one of the biggest challenges during Operation Safed Sagar was making the MiG-21 perform accurately at extreme altitudes.

“To fly this aircraft and engage targets at 14,000 to 15,000 feet, the air is so rare and the weapons don’t behave in the same manner,” he explained.

He recalled that the pilots and ground crews had to improvise to make the aircraft and its weapons perform more accurately at those altitudes.

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“There was a lot of, you can say, jugaad that was done to make the aircraft perform and become more accurate at those altitudes when we carried out our bombing, day and night.”

BS Dhanoa recalls his first night strike

BS Dhanoa also recalled his first night strike sortie during Operation Safed Sagar, when the target was located inside a valley.

“The target was inside a valley, so we went inside the valley and then we came down to 1km above the target level. The snow-clad peaks on both sides and the moon phase, they were looking beautiful. Of course, I was keeping a track of my course and compass also. But at the same time, I could see all that and it was beautiful. And then there is a battle going on below you.”

When they landed, Flying Officer Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal told Dhanoa what he had seen during the mission.

“Sir, they are trading cigarette butts!”

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Dhanoa realised that what Dhaliwal had mistaken for cigarette butts were actually artillery shells.

“I said no, they are not trading cigarette butts, those are shells! Because the rear half of the shell gets heated up when it gets fired out of the barrel, so you can see that red-hot glow of the rear half of the shell, and that’s how you see the whole thing.”

He also spoke about the surreal contrast between the calm inside the cockpit and the destruction unfolding below.

“And in the cockpit, it is all quiet. You don’t actually know about the death and devastation going on below. I don’t think it is possible for anyone to get that unless he has gone into the battle.”

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Wing Commander Jaideep Singh says MiG-21 was used in ‘all the roles’

Wing Commander Jaideep Singh said that the MiG-21 was not restricted to a single role during Operation Safed Sagar.

“In Operation Safed Sagar, the MiG-21 was deployed in all the roles. It’s been an extraordinary fighter.”

He said the aircraft was used for photo reconnaissance, strike missions and air defence.

Singh also recalled radio-telephony chatter picked up by the Indian Army, which indicated the pressure being faced by Pakistani forces occupying the heights.

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“Some of the radio-telephony chatter that was picked up by the Indian Army showed that the Pakistani forces that had come in and dug in were short of rations and ammunition. So this is the kind of effect that the Indian Air Force and the MiG-21 also had.”

About The Last Salute and Operation Safed Sagar on Netflix

The Last Salute is directed by former Air Force officer Kushal Srivastava. The documentary revisits the MiG-21’s final chapter through the memories of generations of pilots and Air Force personnel who flew and maintained the iconic fighter jet. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

Srivastava also co-created Netflix’s six-episode drama Operation Safed Sagar: The Untold Story of the Kargil War, which explores the Indian Air Force’s role in the 1999 Kargil conflict through the story of the Golden Arrows squadron. The series stars Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill and Abhay Verma and premiered on Netflix on August 7.