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MiG-27 | |
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A MiG-27 of the Indian Air Force | |
Role | Ground-attack aircraft |
National origin | Soviet Union |
Manufacturer | Mikoyan |
First flight | 20 August 1970 |
Introduction | 1975 |
Retired | 1993 (Russia) 2019 (India) 2023 (Kazakhstan) |
Status | Retired |
Primary users | Soviet Air Forces (historical) Russian Air Force (historical) Indian Air Force (historical) Kazakh Air Force (historical) |
Produced | 1972–1995 |
Number built | 1,075 (including licensed production)[1] |
Developed from | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 |
The Mikoyan MiG-27 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) was a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, 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"). It 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. As of late 2023, all Russian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Ukrainian, and Kazakh MiG-27s have been retired, bringing the type's service to an end.