During Angola’s long-running civil war, MiG-21s of the Cuban Air Force were frequently deployed to attack ground targets manned by rebel forces or engage South African Air Force Mirage F1s conducting cross-border strikes. Most MiG-21 losses over Angola were attributed to accurate ground fire, such as an example downed by National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) insurgents near Luena with an American FIM-92 Stinger.
Despite extensive losses to man-portable air-defense systems, MiG-21s were instrumental during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale; Cuban pilots became accustomed to flying up to three sorties a day. Both the MiG-21MF and the MiG-21bis were deployed almost exclusively in the fighter/bomber role. As interceptors, they were somewhat unsuccessful due to their inability to detect low-flying South African aircraft. On 6 November 1981, a Mirage F1CZ achieved South Africa’s first confirmed air-to-air kill since the Korean War when it destroyed Cuban Lieutenant Danacio Valdez’s MiG-21MF with 30mm cannon fire. On 5 October 1982, Mirages escorting an English Electric Canberra on routine reconnaissance over Cahama were engaged by at least two MiG-21bis.
A South African radar operator picked up the attacking MiGs and was able to alert the Mirage pilots in advance, instructing them to change course immediately. As they jettisoned their auxiliary tanks, however, they were pinpointed by the Cubans, who opened pursuit. In a vicious dogfight, SAAF Major John Rankin closed range and maneuvered into the MiGs’ rear cones. From there, one of his two R.550 Magic missiles impacted directly behind the lead MiG and forced it down. The second aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Raciel Marrero Rodriguez, could not detect the Mirage’s proximity until it had entered his turn radius and was perforated by Rankin’s autocannon. This damaged MiG-21 landed safely at Lubango.
Contacts between MiG-21s and SAAF Mirage F1s or Mirage IIIs became increasingly common throughout the 1980s. Between 1984 and 1988, thirteen MiG-21s were lost over Angola. On 9 August 1984, a particularly catastrophic accident occurred when the 9th Fighter Training Squadrons and the 12th Fighter Squadrons of the Cuban Air Force attempted to carry out an exercise in poor weather. A single MiG-21bis and three MiG-23s were lost.
On 14 December 1988, an Angolan Air Force MiG-21bis, serial number C340, strayed off course and being low on fuel executed an emergency landing on an open field in South West Africa, modern-day Namibia, where it was seized by local authorities. Since Angola did not request its return after the South African Border War, the MiG was restored by Atlas Aviation and until September 2017 it was displayed at Swartkops Air Force Base, Pretoria. The jet was returned to Angola, flying in an Angolan Il-76 cargo plane, as a sign of goodwill on 15 September 2017.
