IAF’s Russian-made fighter aircraft – MiG 27 – which proved to be “ace attacker” during the 1999 KargilWar and earned nickname of “Bahadur” from pilots, pass into the glorious history of country’s air force on 27 December, when the last squadron – Scorpion 29 – of seven upgraded MiG 27 planes flew its last sortie from Jodhpur air base of the the South West Air Command.All the planes of this squadron have now been decommissioned. No other country operates MiG 27 now.
Jodhpur had two squadrons of MiG 27, of which one had been decommissioned earlier in 2019.
After decommissioning, the planes are either used as souvenirs or returned to the base or depot or even could be given to some other country.
MiG-27 ML ‘Bahadur’
The IAF had the MiG-27 ML ‘Bahadur’ and the MiG-27 UPG. MiG-27ML.The ML was an export variant of the Russian MiG-27M provided in 1986 to India in knock-down kits for license-assembly at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It was the same as the MiG-27M, except the undernose fairing for the infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor had a single window instead of several, like the one on the original MiG-27M. A total of 150 were assembled by India.
Though the last MLs were retired, MiG-27 UPG continued to serve with midlife avionics upgrade and were based in Jodhpur.
With its sophisticated avionics and weapon computers, it was capable of delivering a variety of loads in different modes of attack with immense precision.
Being a very stable weapon platform with good forward visibility and all around view, it could drop bombs, rockets, precision munitions guided by TV/laser and also fire air-to-air missiles for self defence, thus making it a lethal and a potent weapon platform.
MiG-27ML had proved its worth in various operations, including in Kargil and earned rich accolades in numerous international exercises held in India.
Some issues with this aircraft had made headlines, especially after the Kargil conflict. There were several crashes which were later attributed to certain defects in the R29 engines of the aircraft. Since 2001, the IAF has lost more than 12 MiG-27s to crashes. In mid-February 2010, India grounded its entire fleet of over 150 of the aircraft after a MiG-27 crashed on 16 February 2010 in Siliguri, West Bengal. The crash was attributed to defects in the R29 engines of the aircraft, suspected to have occurred during the overhauling of the aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Another MiG-27 crashed in the Barmer area on January 27, 2015. On June 13, 2016, a MiG-27 (TU 657) on a training mission crashed in a residential area near Jodhpur Air Force Base in Rajasthan.
For its day and age, it was one of the best fighters of the analog era. There was much work for the pilots to do – both outside and inside the cockpit. There was no head-up display, no GPS navigation, no fly-by-wire (hydraulic controls had to be manually operated) but it was built for low altitude high speed flying.
The variable sweep wings could be swept to 16-degree for landing and take-off and low flying, 45-degree for combat and 72-degree for speed and get away, all due to its powerful engine – the R-29B turbojet which generated over 25,000 lbs thrust. It is said, with after burners Mirages could not catch it.
At low level it could fly in excess of 1000 kmph and at high level almost Mach 1.7.
The MiG-27 was heavy on maintenance mainly due to age-related problems with the engine. Its serviceability was around 60-70 per cent in later years as it got older. The IAF prolonged its life and kept on using it longer.
MiG-27 UPG
120 of the MiG-27 fighter bomber aircraft were upgraded beginning 2002 through a tripartite memorandum of understanding between Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) under the aegis of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), HAL Nasik and the Indian Air Force. The process was successfully completed indigenously in 2009, giving the aircraft better navigational technology and a pilot friendly cockpit.
The upgraded MiG-27 aircraft was equipped with Inertial Navigation and Global Positioning System (INGPS) providing accurate navigation. Advanced avionics on the aircraft were interfaced on MIL-STD-1553B Dual Redundant Bus.
To enable weapon aiming, accurate ranging sensors such as Laser Designator Pod (LDP) and Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) were integrated. A digital map generator was integrated to improve situational awareness. The digital video recording system provided mission analysis and debrief support.
The upgraded aircraft had a pilot friendly cockpit with state-of-art multi function display and head up display (HUD). The pilot flew “Head Up” with all the necessary navigation and attack guidance symbology presented on the HUD and superimposed on the outside world-view.
The integrated flight and weapon control system of the upgraded aircraft enabled hands free (auto pilot) route flying and auto-weapon delivery.
HAL-Nasik was instrumental in the design and modification of prototype aircraft for installation of new cockpit and avionics equipment as well as related looming changes.
The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) criticized the upgrade programme in its report in 2008 saying that the go-ahead for the Rs 921 crore upgrade for 40 of the 133 aircraft was given in 1999, but only 20 had been upgraded by 2008 and only 10 accepted by the IAF, when the Russians had said that they would discontinue support for the airctaft and systems by 2012. Also, the IAF had supported the upgrade despite knowing about problems with the engine and the airframe. The undue delay forced the IAF to drop plans for upgrade to night vision capability, digital flight data recorder and air-to-air refueling.
In 2014 again, the CAG criticized plans to develop an electronic warfare (EW) system Takshak, sanctioned in 2009 through a joint venture with Israel. The system was to be developed by 2014 but after Rs 155 crore of the Rs 311 crore sanctioned, the project was foreclosed.
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MiG-27ML Armament
20 tons all-up weight
9 hard point (2 for drop tanks)
4 tons of explosives
22×100 kg bombs
Or 8×500 kg bombs
4×240 kg rockets
128x57mm rockets (in 4 pods)
30mm 6-barrel Gasha cannon with 240 rounds
Anti-surface missiles (TV and laser-fuided)
Napalm, tactical nuclear weapons
