The MiG-21 Bison fighter jet of the Indian Air Force that shot down and advanced American origin F-16 of the Pakistani Air Force on 27/02/2019 was a highly upgraded version of the Soviet era jet . India's first MiG-21 arrived from the Soviet Union in 1963 and four years later Hindustan Aeronautics Limited started making these jets at home under license from Soviets . The MiG-21 Bison upgrade was launched in 1990s and the last upgrade for 110 MiG-21 jets to Bison happened in 2006 turning them in to capable modern fighter jets fitted with beyond visual range missiles .