Indian air force to phase out MiG 21s NEW DELHI, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- While Russia remains India's top arms supplier, the Indian air force has decided to retire its Russian-made MiG-21 fighter aircraft. The phase-out will begin in 2014 as the MiG-21s are replaced by new purchases. Indian Defense Minister AK Antony told a meeting of a parliamentary committee that MiG-21s make up about 40 percent of the India air force fleet. They will be switched out for "modern next-generation aircraft such as the fifth-generation fighter aircraft and medium multi-role combat aircraft," Antony said in a report by The Press Trust of India. The Indian air force will be a new look force. The MiG-21s were reportedly never popular with Indian pilots, who nicknamed them "flying coffins." In 2011, seven Indian air force fighters -- six MiG-21 variants -- crashed. The Indian air force purchased a total of 946 MiG-21s in its fleet and 476 of them have been lost in various accidents in the past 45 years.