The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) “lethal” fighter aircraft MiG-27, which proved to be “ace attacker” during the 1999 Kargil war, is all set to be decommissioned after its last sortie from Jodhpur air base on December 27.
A senior IAF officer said the last sortie will be carried out by the squadron of the seven MiG-27 fighters. “It will be history as no other country operates MiG-27 now,” the officer said.
The MiG-27 ground strike aircraft, which earned nickname of ‘Bahadur’ from pilots, has had an impeccable track record in its more than three decades of glorious service to the nation. It was procured in the 1980s from the then Soviet Union.
The aircraft has the single most powerful engine in the world and variable geometry wing which allows the pilot to change the wing sweep angle while flying as per the mission requirement to achieve optimum flying characteristics.