MiG-21 LanceR

     Notes: This is the most modern development of the MiG-21.  It was produced as an upgrade kit for Romania by the Israelis in the early 1990s, and the first LanceR went into squadron service in Romania in 1994.  It is essentially a MiG-21MF, PF, PFM, or M with upgraded electronics, controls, navigation systems, and attack systems, as well as a more powerful autocannon.  Despite the improvements and overhauls, and despite the fact that the Romanian MiG-21 fleet was one of the world’s newest, the LanceRs were increasingly difficult to maintain in a flying condition, and there were numerous crashes as time went on due to mechanical and electrical failures. In 2024, the Romanians replaced them with F-16Cs and Ds.

     The LanceR is, airframe-wise, a MiG-21 with overhauls and SLEPs (Service Life Extension Programs) to increase service lifespan. The LanceR is powered by the same Tumansky R-25-300 turbojet as the original MiG-21, with 9100 pounds thrust dry and 15600 pounds thrust in afterburner. The engines in the LanceRs have also been heavily overhauled and SLEPed.  The radar of the LanceR is upgraded to the Elbit EL/M-2032 radar developed for the Lavi and since integrated into at least nine aircraft types. The LanceR is able to use both Western and Eastern weapons. The LanceR A is optimized for air-to-ground work, with a downgraded radar, only one MFD in the cockpit, and a laser designator added.  The LanceR C is the air superiority variant, with the upgraded Israeli radar and additional fire control electronics, as well as a second MFD, which displays from the radar. (The LanceR B is a trainer variant that will not be covered here.)

      Twilight 2000 Notes: Though the official data from Israel said that the upgrades take six months to perform, the Romanians were performing the upgrade in as little as three weeks before the work was stopped by Russian airstrikes in 1998.