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New page: The '''MiG-27''' (NATO designation: "Flogger") is a single-seat, Soviet-built jet fighter, optimized for ground attack and based in the MiG-23. The new Flogger varian...
The '''MiG-27''' (NATO designation: "Flogger") is a single-seat, [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-built jet fighter, optimized for ground attack and based in the [[MiG-23]].
The new Flogger variant came about as an answer to the flaws of the ground-attack variant of the MiG-23. The first prototype flew in 1972.
The MiG-27 is very similar to the MiG-23, but has a somewhat simplified powerplant and more fuel economy. Top speed is lower, at 1200 mph compared to 1550 mph for the MiG-23. A 30 mm multi-barrel cannon replaces the 23 mm gun of the MiG-23, and the airframe can carry a 30 percent greater ordinance load, which can include tactical nuclear weapons.<ref>''The Vital Guide to Military Aircraft'', ed. by Sophearith Moeng, Aerospace Publishing, 1994</ref>
The MiG-27 hasn’t been as widely exported as the MiG-23, but [[India]] has a contract to build them under license.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft'', ed. by Paul Eden, Aerospace Publishing, 2004</ref>
==Operational History==
Like most Soviet attack aircraft, the MiG-27 saw service in [[Afghanistan]], although it wasn’t as prominent there as the [[Sukhoi Su-22]] or [[Sukhoi Su-25|Su-25]].
A Soviet unit of MiG-27s arrived in [[Iraq]] in March of 1985 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]], to assist the Iraqi war effort and to test the Flogger in combat. The Soviet pilots flew in support of Iraqi counter-attacks against the Iranian Fatima Zahra offensive, using bombs and [[Kh-29 missile|AS-14 air-to-surface missiles]]. The Floggers made many successful strikes, prompting the Iranians to redeploy some of their [[F-14 Tomcat|F-14 interceptors]]. In late March, the Iranian pilots sprang an ambush, and four MiG-27s were shot down, three by Tomcats and one by an [[F-4 Phantom]], with the loss of three pilots. The unit was withdrawn immediately.<ref>''Iranian F-14 Units in Combat'', by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>
[[Sri Lanka]] bought MiG-27s from [[Ukraine]] starting in May of 2000, although the purchase was kept secret initially. The new MiGs saw combat for the first time on August 8 of that year, when three of them attacked [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|Tamil Tiger]] positions near [[Jaffna]]. During Operation Kinihira in early 2001, MiG-27s, along with [[IAI Kfir]]s, flew several missions against rebel artillery positions. By late February, Sri Lankan Floggers had flown 73 combat sorties and dropped over 900 tons of ordinance. More strikes followed in March and April, severely hurting the rebels. No MiGs were shot down, but one was destroyed and another was damaged on the ground by Tamil sappers in a raid on Katunayake Airbase on July 24, 2001.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_336.shtml Sri Lanka, since 1971]</ref>
==MiG-27 in fiction==
MiG-27s make a key appearance in the OVA [[anime]], ''[[Area 88]].'' They are the planes flown by the [[East Germany|East German]] mercenary group known as the Wolf Pack, which specializes in destroying air bases.
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]
The new Flogger variant came about as an answer to the flaws of the ground-attack variant of the MiG-23. The first prototype flew in 1972.
The MiG-27 is very similar to the MiG-23, but has a somewhat simplified powerplant and more fuel economy. Top speed is lower, at 1200 mph compared to 1550 mph for the MiG-23. A 30 mm multi-barrel cannon replaces the 23 mm gun of the MiG-23, and the airframe can carry a 30 percent greater ordinance load, which can include tactical nuclear weapons.<ref>''The Vital Guide to Military Aircraft'', ed. by Sophearith Moeng, Aerospace Publishing, 1994</ref>
The MiG-27 hasn’t been as widely exported as the MiG-23, but [[India]] has a contract to build them under license.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft'', ed. by Paul Eden, Aerospace Publishing, 2004</ref>
==Operational History==
Like most Soviet attack aircraft, the MiG-27 saw service in [[Afghanistan]], although it wasn’t as prominent there as the [[Sukhoi Su-22]] or [[Sukhoi Su-25|Su-25]].
A Soviet unit of MiG-27s arrived in [[Iraq]] in March of 1985 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]], to assist the Iraqi war effort and to test the Flogger in combat. The Soviet pilots flew in support of Iraqi counter-attacks against the Iranian Fatima Zahra offensive, using bombs and [[Kh-29 missile|AS-14 air-to-surface missiles]]. The Floggers made many successful strikes, prompting the Iranians to redeploy some of their [[F-14 Tomcat|F-14 interceptors]]. In late March, the Iranian pilots sprang an ambush, and four MiG-27s were shot down, three by Tomcats and one by an [[F-4 Phantom]], with the loss of three pilots. The unit was withdrawn immediately.<ref>''Iranian F-14 Units in Combat'', by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>
[[Sri Lanka]] bought MiG-27s from [[Ukraine]] starting in May of 2000, although the purchase was kept secret initially. The new MiGs saw combat for the first time on August 8 of that year, when three of them attacked [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|Tamil Tiger]] positions near [[Jaffna]]. During Operation Kinihira in early 2001, MiG-27s, along with [[IAI Kfir]]s, flew several missions against rebel artillery positions. By late February, Sri Lankan Floggers had flown 73 combat sorties and dropped over 900 tons of ordinance. More strikes followed in March and April, severely hurting the rebels. No MiGs were shot down, but one was destroyed and another was damaged on the ground by Tamil sappers in a raid on Katunayake Airbase on July 24, 2001.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_336.shtml Sri Lanka, since 1971]</ref>
==MiG-27 in fiction==
MiG-27s make a key appearance in the OVA [[anime]], ''[[Area 88]].'' They are the planes flown by the [[East Germany|East German]] mercenary group known as the Wolf Pack, which specializes in destroying air bases.
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]