picture 184036

MiG-21R (L-14i) serial number 26107 served its entire carrier – from delivery in July 1970 until mid-1997, when it was scrapped under the Dayton Agreement – with 352nd Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron. In the late 1980s, it was re-engined with a Tumansky R-11F2SK-300 engine (MM-15), like most MiG-21MFs. The aircraft is shown with the D-pod under the centreline: this was a container for photographic cameras. A SAB flash bomb (used to light the target during nocturnal operations) is shown installed on the inboard underwing pylon. Inset in the lower left corner is the R-pod (used for ELINT purposes), and to the right is the standard 490-litre drop tank nearly always carried on outboard underwing pylons. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)