What was the MiG-21SPS?

Short answer

"MiG-21SPS" was not a distinct model: it was the name East Germany's air force gave to the genuine MiG-21PFM, izdeliye 94A, to avoid confusion with the local designation "MiG-21PFM," which there referred to the modified MiG-21PF, izdeliye 76A.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Pair of Soviet MiG-21s in flight, view from below

An East German name

"MiG-21SPS" was not a separate model from Mikoyan, but the designation that the East German air force gave to the genuine MiG-21PFM, the izdeliye 94A. The renaming was meant to avoid confusion with the local designation "MiG-21PFM", which there had been applied to the modified MiG-21PF, the izdeliye 76A.

What that aircraft was

The MiG-21PFM incorporated an updated RP-21M radar and an SRZO-2 Khrom-Nikkel IFF transponder. Before it, the MiG-21PFS had been built: its first nine production series were externally identical to the MiG-21PF, but featured blown flaps. From series 10 to 19, the broad-chord vertical stabiliser that had appeared earlier on the MiG-21FL was introduced. From construction number 941314, MiG-21PFS aircraft carried a KM-1 ejection seat and a two-piece canopy that opened to the side.