GOA: A MiG 29K fighter jet of the Indian Navy developed a technical malfunction while returning to a base in Goa on Wednesday morning and the pilot ejected safely.

The aircraft was on a routine sortie over the sea off Goa. "The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation," the officials. He is reported to be in stable condition. A Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident.

A MiG 29K on a routine sortie over sea off Goa developed a technical malfunction while returning to base. The pilot ejected safely & has been recovered in a swift SAR ops.
Pilot reported to be in stable condition.
BoI ordered to investigate the cause of the incident.
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) October 12, 2022

A MiG 29K aircraft is a state-of-the-art, all-weather, carrier-based, air dominance fighter with a maximum speed of over twice the speed of sound (about 2000 kmph). It can pull up to 8 times the force of gravity, can climb to an altitude of over 65000 feet.

As per reports in WION, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has around 70 MiG-21 aircraft and 50 MiG-29 variants. Plans are afoot to retire the MiG-29 fleet, with the officials drawing up a timeline to phase out in the next five years. The IAF has also decided to phase out the remaining four squadrons of the Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft within a three-year time frame and plans to retire all four MiG-21 squadrons by 2025.

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