The MiG-27 is considered to be a reliable and smooth operational ground attack aircraft
Although not as fast as other fighters, the MiG-27 is capable of hitting ground targets with great accuracy
On December 27, 2019, the Indian Air Force decommissioned the last MiG-27 attack aircraft
which they named Bahadur during a ceremony held by the 29th Squadron at Jodhpur Air Base
The Mikoyan MiG-27 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J)
is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, a favorite design of the 1960s
The Mig-27 was originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union
and later licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur ("Valiant")
In 2000, the MiG-27s of India received a new avionics upgrade
The MiG-27 was born to fill the void of attack aircraft of the Soviet Army after World War 2
as the Sukhoi design bureau developed the modified Su-17/20/22 Fitter, and the armored Su-25 Frogfoot
and the rival Mikoyan-i-Gurevich developed the MiG-27
MiG-27 is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimised for air-to-ground attack
Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not have widespread use outside Russia
as most countries opted for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN and Sukhoi Su-22 instead
It remains in service only with the Kazakh Air Forces in the ground attack role
All Russian, Indian and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired
The Mig-27 is a single-seat attack aircraft.
It measures 17m in length (56 ft 0 in), 5m in height (16 ft 5 in)
wingspan is 13.97m (45 ft 10 in) when spread, and only 7.78m (26 ft) when swept
Its empty weight is 11.9 tons, and maximum takeoff weight is 20.67 tons
The Mig-27 is powered by a Tumansky R-29-B-300 afterburning turbojet engine
with 78.5 kN dry thrust, and 112.8 kN with afterburner
Mikoyan's iron bird can reach a top speed of Mach 1.7 at altitude, and Mach 1.09 at sea level, the combat range is 780 km.
The MiG-27 shares the basic airframe of the MiG-23, but with a revised nose – nicknamed "Utkonos" ("Platypus") in Russian service
first introduced on the MiG-23B
Dissatisfaction with the MiG-23BN led to the further development of the basic airframe to accommodate a stronger undercarriage
simpler intakes and a shorter exhaust nozzle
without radar in favor of a downward-sloping profile for improved pilot visibility, a laser rangefinder and marked-target seeker
Since the MiG-27 was intended to fly most of its missions at low altitude
the MiG-23's variable intake ramps and exhaust nozzles were discarded in favor of a simpler fixed configuration
reducing weight and maintenance requirements
The aircraft also has larger, heavy-duty landing gear to facilitate operation from poorer-quality airfields
In accordance with the MiG-27's strike and low-level attack requirements
provisions were made to mount missiles and precision-guided munitions
as well as retaining a nuclear capability in line with other Soviet combat aircraft by introducing specialized navigation systems
In terms of weapons, MiG-27 is equipped with unguided bombs, missiles, rockets, and a 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 rotary cannon with 260 rounds
or a 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 autocannon with 200 rounds
Despite the success of the original MiG-23 interceptor model, the MiG-27 did not see similar results through overseas sales
Only some 1,075 MiG-27s made it into circulation with production running from 1970 to 1986
The MiG-27 saw its first combat in actions over Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s
MiG-27 aircraft entered service with the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2000