Bangladesh F-7 Fighter Jet Crashes into Dhaka School, Kills 19 in Nation’s Worst Aviation Tragedy

In one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Bangladesh’s modern history, a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) F-7 fighter jet crashed into a crowded college campus in Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 100 others, according to emergency officials.

The high-speed jet struck the Milestone School and College in Diabari, northern Dhaka, at approximately 1:18 p.m. local time, leaving behind smoldering wreckage and a scene of chaos as rescue teams rushed to recover victims and extinguish the flames.

The pilot of the aircraft was among the fatalities, as confirmed by regional authorities and corroborated by reports from the Associated Press.

A spokesperson for interim national leader Muhammad Yunus reported that of the more than 100 injured, 83 victims—mostly school students—are being treated at various hospitals across the capital, with several listed in critical condition.

“I express my deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident of casualties caused by the crash,” Yunus posted on X.

“This is a moment of profound pain for the nation. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and direct all concerned authorities, including hospitals, to address the situation with the utmost priority,” he added in the wake of the tragedy.

The incident has not only sparked national mourning but also reignited debate over the continued reliance on ageing military aircraft by the Bangladesh Air Force.

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Chengdu F-7, a Chinese-built derivative of the Soviet-era MiG-21, which has served as the mainstay of Bangladesh’s air defence architecture since the late 1980s.

Though modernized across three decades of service, the F-7 platform is increasingly seen as outdated in a region marked by rapid airpower modernization, stealth aircraft proliferation, and beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagements.

Bangladesh inducted the first F-7MB units in the late 1980s to replace an ageing mix of legacy aircraft, forming the backbone of its Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) capabilities at a time when fiscal constraints limited access to more advanced platforms.

Subsequent acquisitions included the F-7BG/FT-7BG in the early 2000s with improved avionics, and the more modern F-7BGI delivered in 2012, which featured digital cockpits and radar-guided missile capability—marking the most advanced iteration of the type in BAF service.

However, the F-7’s foundational design—based on the high-speed, low-drag Soviet MiG-21—carries inherent limitations in agility, situational awareness, and multi-role capability.

Its single WP-13F afterburning turbojet engine offers supersonic speed (Mach 2.0) and rapid climb rates (155 meters per second), but lacks the fuel efficiency and endurance of modern turbofans, with a combat radius of just 850 km.

The F-7BGI variant introduced some modernisation with KLJ-6E radar, a glass cockpit, multi-function displays (MFDs), and compatibility with PL-9C radar-guided air-to-air missiles, yet the aircraft still lacks all-weather combat capability and BVR systems standard in 4.5-generation fighters.

Armament remains limited to short-range munitions, including two 30mm cannons, PL-5E and PL-9C short-range air-to-air missiles, unguided rockets, and gravity bombs—with a maximum payload capacity of approximately 2,000 kg spread over five hardpoints.

In terms of operational doctrine, the BAF employs the F-7 as a point interceptor—focused on airspace denial and quick reaction—rather than for multirole or expeditionary combat missions.

Operating from key airbases such as BAF Base Bangabandhu (Dhaka), BAF Base Zahurul Haque (Chattogram), and BAF Base Matiur Rahman (Jessore), F-7 squadrons conduct routine interception drills integrated with ground-based radar systems and surface-to-air missile (SAM) defences.

However, growing regional airpower asymmetry—highlighted by India’s acquisition of Rafale fighters and China’s deployment of stealth-capable J-20 and J-35 platforms—exposes the growing obsolescence of platforms like the F-7 in 21st-century aerial warfare.

With no datalink, limited radar performance, lack of electronic warfare suites, and no network-centric warfare capability, the F-7 is outclassed by peer and near-peer adversaries in most operational environments.

Despite these limitations, the aircraft’s low cost and ease of maintenance have allowed the BAF to retain credible air policing capabilities within its modest defence budget.

Current estimates place the cost of an F-7BGI unit at under USD $10 million (approximately RM46 million), a fraction of what multirole 4.5-generation fighters such as the J-10C (estimated USD $30–40 million / RM140–186 million) or Rafale (USD $80–100 million / RM373–466 million) would cost.

Nonetheless, defence planners in Dhaka have signaled growing interest in acquiring newer platforms.

China’s JF-17 Block III, equipped with AESA radar and BVR missiles, has been touted as a potential replacement, while some defence sources have even speculated interest in the J-10C under favourable financing terms from Beijing.

There have also been periodic murmurs of interest in Western platforms, though political alignment, after-sales support, and cost remain formidable barriers.

Until such transitions occur, the F-7 remains the BAF’s primary interceptor, tasked with defending Bangladesh’s sovereign airspace in an increasingly complex regional threat environment.

As regional rivals expand their force projection and air superiority capabilities, the urgency for Bangladesh to modernize its aerial inventory becomes more acute.

The tragic crash in Dhaka may serve as a watershed moment, prompting deeper reflection on the human and strategic cost of relying on outdated legacy platforms in a region where air dominance increasingly determines national security outcomes.

While the Bangladesh Air Force has performed admirably within its constraints, the loss of lives in peacetime due to an ageing fighter jet raises serious questions on risk management, maintenance protocols, and long-overdue modernization.

In the final analysis, the Chengdu F-7 stands as both a symbol of Bangladesh’s resilience and its limitations—a fast, agile interceptor still guarding its skies, but one that now demands a successor before more tragedy unfold.