Netflix released The Last Salute, a documentary about the MiG-21 fighter aircraft’s final years in the Indian Air Force, on August 26, 2026. The film examines the aircraft’s 62-year service history and its final retirement ceremony in Chandigarh on September 26, 2025.
The documentary was directed by Kushal Srivastava and produced by Matchbox Shots. It runs 79 minutes and is narrated by actor Sharad Kelkar.
The film features interviews with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, former Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, Air Commodore S.S. Tyagi, Squadron Leader Priya Sharma, and several other pilots who flew the aircraft over the decades.
Production and Release
The documentary was announced in August 2026, following the global success of Operation Safed Sagar, a Netflix series that dramatized the Indian Air Force’s role in the 1999 Kargil War. That series reached the No. 2 position on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV Shows list and entered the top 10 in 40 countries.
Netflix India Series Head Tanya Bami said the MiG-21 became an integral part of the stories shared by pilots during the making of Operation Safed Sagar.
Bami said: ‘We are taking our collaboration with the IAF further through another story from this world. The MiG-21 became such an integral part of the stories we heard from pilots that we knew its legacy deserved to be explored in its own right. The Last Salute is a tribute to its 62 years with the Indian Air Force, and to the generations of pilots for whom it became much more than an aircraft.’
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Producer Sanjay Routray said: ‘While making the series, we realised that the MiG-21 wasn’t just an aircraft, it was an emotion for generations of air warriors. The Last Salute takes that story further, exploring the extraordinary bond between the MiG-21 and the generations of fighter pilots who flew it.’
Content and Themes
The documentary follows the MiG-21 through its final operational days with 23 Squadron and concludes at its retirement ceremony in Chandigarh. Chandigarh was also the location where the Russian-made aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1963.
The film combines archival footage, cockpit visuals, and personal recollections from pilots. The documentary also addresses the aircraft’s accident record and the ‘flying coffin’ label, though some reviewers noted the film approaches that subject cautiously.
The documentary opens with a poem written by Alok Srivastava, with Kelkar providing the narration.
The Last Salute: A Love Letter to MiG-21 premiered on Netflix on August 26, 2026, and is currently streaming.
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