A little-known attack aircraft, the Mikoyan MiG-27 struck Afghanistan, served India in Kargil, and left a lasting confusion surrounding the Gulf War.
Summary
The Mikoyan MiG-27 (Flogger-D/J) is a ground attack aircraft derived from the MiG-23, designed in the 1970s by the Soviet Union to strike deep ground targets. Equipped with variable-geometry wings, a powerful R-29B-300 turbojet engine, and a 30 mm rotary cannon, it can carry up to 4,000 kg of bombs and rockets on several hardpoints. However, its operational career remained limited and was often misunderstood. The aircraft was deployed by the Soviet Air Forces in Afghanistan in the final years of the war, starting in 1987, mainly for ground attack missions from safe altitudes imposed by the threat of portable surface-to-air missiles. It then saw action mainly under the colors of the Indian Air Force, notably during the Kargil War in 1999, as well as in Sri Lanka. Contrary to popular belief, it did not see combat during the 1991 Gulf War, where the Iraqi MiG-23BN carried out most of the ground attack missions. Gradually replaced by more modern and robust aircraft, the MiG-27 embodies the limitations of a fast tactical bomber, which is very powerful but ill-suited to asymmetric conflicts and environments saturated with modern ground-to-air defenses.
The development of a Flogger specialized in ground attack
The MiG-27 was born out of a desire for rationalization: to use the MiG-23, a variable-geometry wing fighter, as a basis for creating a dedicated ground attack aircraft. The idea was to obtain a platform that was simpler to produce than a Sukhoi Su-24, but more powerful than a Su-7 or MiG-21, with better survivability in low-altitude flight.
The aircraft retained the basic airframe of the MiG-23, but with a redesigned and lowered nose to improve forward visibility, a more heavily armored cockpit, and avionics geared toward ground attack. The MiG-27K version is approximately 17.08 m long, with a variable wingspan of 13.97 m with wings extended and 7.78 m with wings folded, and a height of 5 m. Its maximum takeoff weight exceeds 20,000 kg.
Powered by a Tumanski R-29B-300 turbojet engine with approximately 112.8 kN of thrust with afterburner, the MiG-27 reaches speeds close to Mach 1.7 (approximately 1,800 km/h at altitude) and operates at altitudes exceeding 14,000 m, even though its real purpose is low-level flight, between 50 m and 500 m, to evade radar.
Its main armament is a 30 mm GSh-6-30 rotary cannon with six barrels, capable of firing nearly 5,000 rounds per minute, typically with 300 shells. The recoil is so powerful that it causes severe mechanical stress on the airframe and front structure, to the point of causing cracks and incidents, which will lead to limiting its use or adapting the firing profiles.
Under the wings and fuselage, the MiG-27 can carry up to 4,000 kg of smooth bombs, fragmentation bombs, S-5, S-8 or S-24 rockets, as well as air-to-ground guided missiles such as the Kh-23 Grom (AS-7 Kerry) or Kh-28 (AS-9 Kyle) anti-radar missiles, depending on the version. The combination of speed and offensive payload makes it, on paper, a killer of armored vehicles and strongpoints in a high-intensity conflict in Europe.
The war in Afghanistan, a baptism of fire at high altitude
A late arrival in an already grueling conflict
Contrary to what is sometimes imagined, the MiG-27 did not rush into the war in Afghanistan in 1979. In the early years, Soviet forces relied mainly on the Su-17/22, MiG-21 and, later, Su-25 for close air support.
It was not until 1987-1988 that MiG-27 regiments were deployed, when Moscow sought to strengthen its strike aircraft while preparing for withdrawal. The 134th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (134th APIB), equipped with MiG-27D/M and MiG-23UB two-seaters, was deployed to Shindand Air Base in western Afghanistan after a specific training phase in Kazakhstan.
The aircraft is therefore arriving late in a conflict where Afghan guerrillas are already heavily equipped with FIM-92 Stinger and equivalent man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). This tactical reality will severely constrain the use of the MiG-27, even though it is designed for low-altitude flight.
Ground attack missions under the threat of MANPADS
Faced with the proliferation of MANPADS, the MiG-27s were ordered not to descend below approximately 5,000 m (16,400 ft). At this altitude, the aircraft was largely immune to portable missiles, but lost most of the precision that low-level flight allowed.
Typical missions included:
- bombing mujahideen supply convoys,
- striking logistics depots and hideouts in narrow valleys,
- laying mines and submunitions (cluster bombs and mine dispersals),
- illuminating or marking areas for artillery with flare bombs.
In practice, pilots mainly use unguided bombs dropped in a moderate dive or by “toss bombing” from medium altitude, sometimes at night. The lack of guided munitions, the difficulty in visually acquiring camouflaged targets, and the mountainous topography considerably reduce the tactical effectiveness of the MiG-27 in this role. Post-conflict Russian analyses judge its results to be “mixed” compared to those of the Su-25, which is better protected, more maneuverable at low altitude, and capable of operating closer to ground troops.
The exact losses remain a matter of debate, but several sources mention MiG-27s shot down or damaged by anti-aircraft artillery and MANPADS, despite flying at safe altitudes, particularly during operations around Kandahar in 1988-1989. The operational assessment is one of limited success: the aircraft provided additional firepower, but did not change the course of the war and revealed its limitations in an asymmetric conflict where precision and survivability took precedence over pure speed.
Persistent confusion surrounding the Gulf War
The claim that the MiG-27 was used during the Gulf War in 1991 comes up regularly, often in generic texts on Iraqi “Floggers.” In reality, serious documentation does not confirm this presence.
Iraq did deploy aircraft from the MiG-23 family, but in the form of MiG-23BNs, the attack version of the MiG-23, as well as Su-22s, Su-24s, Mirage F1s, and Su-25s. Iraqi inventories and post-conflict studies clearly indicate that Baghdad had MiG-23BNs, not MiG-27s.
Several factors explain the confusion:
- the very similar silhouettes of the MiG-23BN and MiG-27,
- the use of the same NATO nickname “Flogger” for the entire family,
- the tendency of some non-specialist sources to group MiG-23BN and MiG-27 under the same designation.
During the Gulf War, it was therefore the Iraqi MiG-23BNs that carried out low-altitude ground attack missions against Kuwaiti and coalition targets, before many of them were destroyed on the ground or shot down by F-15 and F-16 fighters or by ground-to-air defenses.
It is important to be clear on this point. It helps to understand why the MiG-27, despite its potential, was not exported on a large scale to the Middle East, and why its real theater of operations remained Afghanistan for the Soviet Union, and then the Indian subcontinent.
Major uses outside the USSR: India and Sri Lanka
The MiG-27’s real international career was mainly in Asia. India received around 165 units, produced under license by Hindustan Aeronautics under the name MiG-27M/ML “Bahadur.”
In the Indian Air Force, the MiG-27 became one of the main tactical attack aircraft in the 1980s and 1990s. During the Kargil War in 1999, it carried out repeated strikes against Pakistani positions at high altitude as part of Operation Safed Sagar. Flying in an extreme mountainous environment, it carried smooth bombs, rockets and, occasionally, guided bombs, with complex attack profiles to comply with political constraints and the line of control.
On May 27, 1999, an Indian MiG-27 was lost after an engine problem, probably related to an ANZA Mark 1 portable surface-to-air missile strike. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Nachiketa, was captured by Pakistani forces before being released. This episode once again illustrates the vulnerability of the aircraft in environments where light ground-to-air defense is omnipresent.
The Sri Lankan Air Force, for its part, acquired a few remanufactured MiG-27s in the early 2000s. They were used against the Tamil Tigers in the context of civil war, with attacks on positions, depots, and logistical infrastructure. Here again, the aircraft provided considerable firepower, but at the cost of heavy stress on the airframes and costly maintenance for a country with limited resources.
Gradually, reliability issues, support costs, and the difficulty of modernizing the avionics led India to retire its MiG-27s, with the last squadron being retired in December 2019. Kazakhstan followed suit in 2023, bringing the aircraft’s operational history to an end.
Structural limitations and the gradual replacement of the MiG-27
Technically, the MiG-27 has several limitations that explain its rapid retirement in Russia as early as 1993.
- The airframe, optimized for high-speed flight at low altitude, undergoes severe structural stress during each penetration mission. Intensive campaigns, such as in Afghanistan, accelerate fatigue.
- The extremely powerful GSh-6-30 cannon generates such recoil that it damages the front structure, equipment, and sometimes the power supply, limiting the intensive use of this “flying artillery.”
- Protection is not on par with that of a Su-25: the cockpit is armored, but the aircraft remains less robust against automatic cannon fire and shrapnel.
- Avionics and navigation-attack systems lag behind Western standards of the 1990s, particularly in terms of precision-guided munitions.
The end of the Cold War accelerated Moscow’s decision: in 1993, Russia withdrew its MiG-27s from frontline service and entrusted ground attack missions to either the Su-24, the Su-25, or more modern multi-role fighters.
In India, the modernized MiG-27s benefited from improved avionics (GPS, multifunction displays, electronic warfare systems), but remained limited by their airframe and their R-29 engine, which was often criticized for its reliability. Repeated crashes, particularly in the 2000s and 2010s, finally convinced New Delhi to turn the page.
The baton was taken up by more flexible multi-role platforms: Su-30MKIs, Mirage 2000s, modernized Jaguars, and then more recent aircraft. In line with Soviet and Russian thinking, the ground attack mission is now carried out by the Su-34, Su-35 and, to a lesser extent, the modernized Su-25, which combine better survivability, greater versatility, and the integration of guided munitions.
What the MiG-27 reveals about the evolution of aerial warfare
The MiG-27 has long remained in the shadow of iconic fighters such as the MiG-29 and Su-27. However, its operational history, from the war in Afghanistan to the Kargil War, says a lot about the transformation of air warfare since the 1980s.
Designed as a hammer to crush NATO armored columns at ground level, it found itself confronted with guerrillas, mountains, and networks of portable missiles that forced it to fly high and use inaccurate bombs. It embodies the gap between the doctrine of industrial warfare in Central Europe and the reality of asymmetric conflicts.
It also showed the limits of “intermediate” solutions: too fast and too poorly protected to be a Soviet A-10, too specialized to be a long-term part of the wave of multi-role fighters, the MiG-27 became a technological dead end. The forces that used it learned the same lesson: it is better to have an aircraft that is slightly less powerful on paper, but robust, versatile, well supported, and capable of using precision-guided munitions.
The definitive withdrawal of the MiG-27 is therefore no mere footnote. It marks the end of a generation of variable-wing tactical bombers designed for a battlefield that never materialized, and serves as a reminder that an aircraft, however impressive, is only valuable if it can be deployed, day after day, in the real conditions of contemporary conflicts.
Sources
- Mikoyan MiG-27 – History, variants, and operational service (Wikipedia, EN).
- MilitaryFactory, MiG-27 technical specifications (dimensions, performance, armament).
- Yefim Gordon, Dmitriy Komissarov, “Mikoyan MiG-23 & MiG-27,” Crécy Publishing, 2019.
- The National Interest, “Russia’s MiG-27 Fired a Cannon So Powerful it Damaged the Aircraft,” 2024.
- AIN Online, “MiG-27 Bows Out of IAF Service,” 2020.
- Times of India and Indian Express, articles on the use of the MiG-27 during the Kargil War and its retirement in 2019.
- Various sources on Iraqi aviation and the MiG-23BN during the Gulf War (Wikipedia, post-conflict reports, historical analyses).
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