Similar to the stories of the "Widowmaker" in the West due to its high accident rate, the Eastern Bloc had its own equivalent. The MiG-21 in Hungarian service was one of the most deadly aircraft to its own pilots ever in Hungarian history. Hungary received hundreds of MiG-21s throughout the years, which ended up in 72 total airframe losses and 32 pilot fatalities due to accidents resulting from various problems. Faulty engines in Hungarian MiG-21 batches, improper training, and lack of maintenance on the older models, all resulted in the infamous reputation of the MiG-21 as a widowmaker in the Hungarian Air Force. One of these widowmakers was the MiG-21MF variant, of which Hungary acquired 50 between 1971 and 1974 before being supplemented by the more advanced MiG-21bis just three years later. The MiG-21s saw very long service with Hungary even after the fall of the USSR, with the last MiG-21MFs being retired in 1996.

The MiG-21MF (Italy) (NATO Code: Fishbed-J) was introduced in Update "Alpha Strike" in the Hungarian sub-tree of the Italian tech tree. Like the other third-generation MiG-21 airframes, this one features a built-in GSh-23 cannon under the fuselage instead of an external Gsh-23L gunpod, meaning it does not have to sacrifice the cannon to take the SPS-141 countermeasures pod. In addition to that improvement, the MiG-21MF has a potent arsenal of weaponry for its battle rating, namely the R-60 air-to-air missile. Combined with its incredible high speed manoeuvrability and overall gameplay loop, the MiG-21MF is a very potent fighter aircraft for its tier. Do be wary, however, that while the MiG-21MF is indeed lighter than its Soviet counterpart, the MiG-21SMT, the SMT has a far better engine, which allows it to win longer dogfights easier assuming both planes start on equal footing. All in all, the MiG-21MF provides acceptable air support and welcomed choice variety to the pilots of the Italian tech tree around this battle rating.