The
Mikoyan MiG-27 (
Russian:
Микоян МиГ-27) (
NATO reporting name "
Flogger-D/J") is a
variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the
Mikoyan design bureau in the
Soviet Union and later license-produced in
India by
Hindustan Aeronautics as the
Bahadur ("Valiant"). It is based on the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft,
but optimized for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27
did not see widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for
the
MiG-23BN and
Sukhoi Su-25
instead. It currently only remains in service with the Indian, Kazakh
and Sri Lankan Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian and
Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired.
Design and development
Optical windows of the laser-television sighting system Kyra-23 MiG-27K.
Bottom box under the TV channel with a laser rangefinder-designator,
the top receiver for a laser rangefinder
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,
[clarification needed] a
laser rangefinder and marked-target seeker.
Among its test pilots, it was also called "
Balkon"
("Balcony") because of the increased frontal view from the cockpit.
Additional cockpit armor was installed, along with a totally new
nav/attack system.
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. With the for
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.
Operational history
It was used by Soviet forces during the later stages of the
Afghanistan conflict in 1987–1989.
Although Western military analysts considered the MiG-27 widely
exported, the aircraft type was primarily used by Soviet client states
and India. Other operators utilized the MiG-27 in a variety of regional
conflicts.
Sri Lanka
MiG-27 aircraft entered service with the
Sri Lanka Air Force in 2000. During the
Sri Lankan Civil War, they saw considerable action bombing strategic targets and providing close air support. In August 2000, a MiG-27 crashed near
Colombo International Airport,
killing its Ukrainian pilot. In July 2001, a second MiG-27 was
destroyed on the ground during an assault on the same air force base by
the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
MiG-27 crashed into the sea near the airport in June 2004. Another MiG
27 fighter jet crashed on a routine training mission in 13th Feb. 2012
near Dummalasuriya area at around 1.35 p.m. The pilot managed to eject
the jet without sustaining injuries.
India
On 27 May 1999, during the
Kargil War, one Indian MiG-27 was lost together with a
MiG-21 while supporting an Indian ground offensive in the
Kashmir region.
Since 2001, the
Indian Air Force has lost 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 R 29 engines of
the aircraft, suspected to have occurred during the overhauling of the
aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited [HAL].
Kazakhstan
The MiG-27 remains in service with the Kazakh Air Force.
Variants
- MiG-23B
The first Flogger attack variant was powered by the AL-21F. Only 24
were produced, due a lack of engines (the AL-21F were destined for the
Sukhoi
Su-17/22 and the
Su-24 Fencer). It was armed with the
GSh-23L cannon, carrying 200 rounds.
- MiG-23BN
Derived from the MiG-23B, but powered with the RB-29B-300 engine.
This gave the advantage of making this variant exportable (the AL-21F
was a restricted engine at the time, unlike the RB-29B-300). The
RB-29B-300 also offered commonality with the MiG-23MS and MiG-23MF
fighter variants already sold to the rest of world. It was armed with
the GSh-23L cannon, with 200 rounds.
- MiG-27 (MiG-23BM)
This was the first in the MiG-27 family to have a canopy without the
central frame, suggesting that the ejection seat was designed to
directly break through the transparency. The dielectric head above the
pylon on the MiG-23 was used on the MiG-27 to house electro-optical and
radio-frequency gear instead. It was also the first variant armed with a
Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30M
Gatling gun. Its
NATO reporting name was
Flogger-D.
- MiG-27K
NATO reporting name:
Flogger-J2.
The MiG-27K was most advanced variant Soviet version, with a laser
designator and compatibility with TV-guided electro-optical weapons. It
carried the GSh-6-30 cannon. Around 200 were built.
- MiG-27M
NATO reporting name:
Flogger-J.
This model was a cheaper variant than the MiG-27K, but much better than
the MiG-23B, MiG-23BN, and MiG-27 (MiG-23BM), with the electro-optical
and radio-frequency heads above the glove pylons deleted. It was first
armed with the GSh-6-23M Gatling gun, but this was later replaced by a
new 30 mm GSh-6-30 six-barrel cannon with 260 rounds of ammunition in a
fuselage gondola. It also received much-improved
electronic countermeasure
(ECM) systems, and a new PrNK-23K nav/attack system providing automatic
flight control, gun firing, and weapons release. However, this
modification was not very successful because of the heavy recoil from
the new cannon, and bursts longer than two or three seconds often led to
permanent damage to the airframe. Test pilot V. N. Kondaurov described
the first firing of the GSh-6-30А:
[Need quotation to verify]
"As I imposed the central mark on the air target and pressed the
trigger to shoot, I heard such noise that I involuntarily drew my hand
aside. The whole plane began to vibrate from the shooting and had almost
stopped from the strong recoil of the gun. The pilotless target, which
was just making a turn ahead of me, was literally disintegrating into
pieces. I have hardly come to my senses from unexpectedness and
admiration: This is a calibre! Such a beast! If you hit something — it
will not be little [damaged]". A total of 200 MiG-27Ms were built from
1978 to 1983, plus 160 for India, and it is currently in service with
the Sri Lanka Air Force.
- MiG-27D
All MiG-27D are MiG-27s (MiG-23BMs) upgraded to the MiG-27M standard.
It is very difficult to distinguish from the MiG-27M. 305 were
upgraded.
- MiG-27ML
This was an export variant of the MiG-27M provided in 1986 to India
in knock-down kits for license-assembly. 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. India
refers to this model as the MiG-27M
Bahadur, while MiG-27L is the Mikoyan export designation.
- MiG-27H
This was a 1988 indigenous Indian upgrade of its license-assembled MiG-27L with
French avionics,
which provides the same level of performance, but with much reduced
size and weight. The capabilities of the aircraft are being enhanced by
the incorporation of modern avionics systems consisting primarily of two
Multi-Function Displays (MFDs) Mission and Display Processor (MDP),
Sextant Ring Laser Gyros (RLG INSI), combined GPS/GLONASS navigation,
HUD with UFCP, Digital Map Generator (DMG), jam-resistant Secured
Communication, stand-by UHF communication, data link and a comprehensive
Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite. A mission planning and retrieval
facility, VTR and HUD Camera will also be fitted. The aircraft retains
stand-by (conventional) instrumentation, including artificial horizon,
altimeter and airspeed indicator, to cater for the failure of HUD and
the MFDs. The MiG-27s are also being endowed with the French Agave or
Russian Komar
radar.
The installation of the radar would give the MiG-27 anti-ship and some
air-to-air capability. It is expected that at least 140 of the 180
aircraft will be converted from MiG-27MLs.
Operators
Current operators
Operators of the MiG-27 in blue (former operators in red).
Indian MiG-27 & USAF F-15.
India
Sri Lanka
Kazakhstan
Former operators
Cuba
Iran
- The Iranian Air Force acquired a number of MiG-27 from the Soviet Union. They appear to be inactive.
Russia
- The Russian Air Force retired their aircraft from front-line use. They are still in reserve and in storage.
Ukraine
Soviet Union
Specifications (MiG-27K)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 Pilot only
- Length: 17.08 m (56 ft 0 in) ()
- Wingspan:
- Spread: 13.97 m (45 ft 10 in)
- Swept: 7.78 m (25 ft 6 in) ()
- Height: 5 m (16 ft 5 in) ()
- Wing area:
- Spread: 37.35 m2 (402.0 sq ft)
- Swept: 34.16 m2 (367.7 sq ft) ()
- Empty weight: 11,908 kg (26,253 lb) (equipped) ()
- Loaded weight: 20,300 kg (44,800 lb) ()
- Max. takeoff weight: 20,670 kg (45,570 lb) ()
- Powerplant: 1 × Khatchaturov R-29B-300 afterburning turbojet
- Dry thrust: 78.5 kN (17,650 lbf) ()
- Thrust with afterburner: 112.8 kN (25,360 lbf) ()
Performance
- Maximum speed:
- at sea level: Mach 1.10 (1,350 km/h, 839 mph)
- at 8,000-metre altitude (26,250 ft): Mach 1.77 (1,885 km/h, 1,171 mph)
- Combat radius: 780 km (480 mi) ()
- 540 km (290 nmi; 340 mi) (with two Kh-29 ASMs and three drop tanks lo-lo-lo)
- 225 km (120 nmi; 140 mi) (with two Kh-29 ASMs and no external fuel)
- Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,550 mi) ()
- Service ceiling: 14,000 m (46,000 ft) ()
- Rate of climb: 200 m/s (39,400 ft/min) ()
- Wing loading: 605 kg/m² (123.9 lb/sq ft) ()
- Thrust/weight: 0.62
Armament
No comments:
Post a Comment