New Delhi: Two pilots had been killed in India after a Soviet-era fighter jet crashed right through a coaching sortie, the air drive stated, heightening protection considerations after a string of incidents involving the plane.

The MiG-21 got here down on Thursday night time within the desolate tract of western Rajasthan state close to town of Barmer, the defence ministry stated.

The crash was once the 6th MiG-21 plane to have long gone down since January closing yr, with 5 pilots killed.

The Indian Air Power (IAF) stated the learning plane “met with an twist of fate” and stated an investigation was once ordered to resolve the reason for the crash.

“IAF deeply regrets the lack of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved households,” the air drive tweeted.

Native media pictures confirmed flaming wreckage unfold over a big house.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated he was once “deeply anguished” by way of the lack of the 2 pilots within the crash.

“Their carrier to the country won’t ever be forgotten,” Singh stated on Twitter.

MiG-21 jets first entered Indian carrier within the Sixties and for many years served because the spine of the rustic’s air drive.

A lot of crashes prior to now few a long time, alternatively, have ended in the planes being dubbed “flying coffins” as a result of their deficient protection file.

India is making an investment billions of bucks in modernising its air drive, an initiative motivated by way of its decades-old contention with Pakistan and greater tensions with China.

Its army has purchased dozens of French Rafale fighter jets, with deliveries beginning in 2020.