Key Points - The Soviet-era MiG-21 "Fishbed," first introduced in 1955, became the most-produced jet aircraft in aviation history, with over 11,000 built and serving in as many as 60 countries.
Compared to contemporaries like the American F-4 Phantom II, the MiG-21 was less complex and far cheaper to produce—but could hold its own against the more sophisticated American jet. The best Soviet ...