The MiG-21 was designed to take advantage of American fighter jet weaknesses. It was small, fast, and exceptionally agile, forcing the F-4 into close combat.
The peculiarly-named MiG-21 Fishbed was a menace over the skies of Vietnam and embodied the Soviet knack for simple, effective war machines. Its tiny but lethal design was more than enough to give American pilots the chills. While the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau cranked out many aircraft, the MiG-21 was special because it was the answer to a specific Soviet need in the 1950s: a lightweight and extremely agile fighter.
The plane’s most iconic feature was a delta-wing design, giving it incredible high-speed performance and agility. Powered by a single Tumansky R-11 turbojet engine, the MiG-21 could scream across the sky at around Mach 2. When it entered service with North Vietnam in early 1966, it immediately escalated the threat level. Its small size made it a difficult target to spot and hit.
Perhaps the scariest part was the tactics North Vietnamese pilots employed. Often guided by ground controllers with early warning radar, they wouldn’t just pick a fight. Instead, they’d wait for the perfect moment to execute their primary mission, which, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, was to force American strike aircraft to jettison their bombs early and ruin their missions.
