{"id":32590462,"date":"2026-11-13T10:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mig-27-flogger-bahadur-india-ground-attack-kargil-history\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T10:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:30:27","slug":"mig-27-flogger-bahadur-india-ground-attack-kargil-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/mig-27-flogger-bahadur-india-ground-attack-kargil-history\/","title":{"rendered":"MiG-27 Flogger: India&#8217;s Bahadur and the Last Swing-Wing MiG"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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When they landed, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/indian-air-force\/\">Indian Air Force<\/a> had retired its last <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-27-flogger\/\">MiG-27<\/a>, and with it its last swing-wing jet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In India it was called the Bahadur, the brave one. NATO called it Flogger-D and Flogger-J. Its pilots had their own descriptions, most of them involving speed, noise and a cannon so violent it could shake the aircraft around it. This is the story of the MiG that was built to fly low and hit hard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Type:<\/strong> Single-seat, single-engine variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Derived from:<\/strong> Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>NATO name:<\/strong> Flogger-D \/ Flogger-J<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Indian name:<\/strong> Bahadur (&ldquo;the brave one&rdquo;)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Engine:<\/strong> One Tumansky R-29B-300 afterburning turbojet<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Gun:<\/strong> 30 mm GSh-6-30 six-barrel rotary cannon<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Wing sweep:<\/strong> 16, 45 and 72 degrees, selected by the pilot<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>IAF service:<\/strong> 1985 to 27 December 2019; around 165 aircraft<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Combat:<\/strong> Afghanistan 1988-89 (USSR), Kargil 1999 (India), Sri Lankan civil war<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Retired:<\/strong> Last IAF flypast, Air Force Station Jodhpur, 27 December 2019<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A MiG-23 with a new face<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The MiG-27 Flogger began as a ground-attack conversion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-23-flogger\/\">MiG-23<\/a> fighter, whose swing-wing story Afterburner told in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mig-23-flogger-swing-wing-fighter-history\/\">MiG-23 Flogger: The Swing-Wing MiG American Pilots Feared<\/a>. Mikoyan kept the basic airframe and variable-sweep wing, then changed almost everything a strike pilot cared about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The fighter&rsquo;s radar nose was replaced by a sharply sloping one that gave the pilot a far better view of the ground ahead. Russian crews nicknamed it the platypus. In place of radar, it carried a laser rangefinder and target seeker. Extra armour went around the cockpit, and a new navigation and attack system went in behind it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/indian-air-force-mig-27-f-15c-cope-india-2004.jpg\" alt=\"Two Indian Air Force MiG-27 Floggers flying in formation with two US Air Force F-15C Eagles over India\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Two Indian MiG-27s fly with US Air Force <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-15-eagle\/\">F-15C Eagles<\/a> from Elmendorf during Exercise Cope India 04 in February 2004. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:USAF_F-15C_Eagles_from_Elmendorf_AFB,_Alaska_and_IAF_MIG-27_Floggers_fly_together_over_the_Indian_landscape_during_Cope_India_04.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IAF courtesy photo via U.S. Air Force \/ Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Because the MiG-27 would live at low level, the MiG-23&rsquo;s variable intakes and exhaust nozzle were replaced with simpler fixed ones, saving weight and maintenance. Heavier landing gear let it operate from rough airfields. Power came from a single Tumansky R-29B-300 afterburning turbojet, and under the belly sat a six-barrelled 30 mm GSh-6-30 rotary cannon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The banshee at 100 metres<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Squadron Leader Anshuman Mainkar, a former Indian MiG-27 pilot, described the jet to the aviation site Hush-Kit in 2018. Pilots controlled the wing sweep by hand: 16 degrees for take-off and landing, 45 degrees for most flying, and the full 72 degrees for a fast getaway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;With wings swept back fully and speeds exceeding 1000 km\/h at low levels, the wings waggled and the noise and vibrations that set in gave an impression of a banshee just freed, screaming with abandon.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Sqn Ldr Anshuman Mainkar<\/strong> &mdash; Former Indian Air Force MiG-27 pilot, interviewed by Hush-Kit, 2018<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>He remembered a live-fire exercise in which two French Mirages trailed his formation. When the call came to push, the MiGs lit their afterburners and pulled away, and the Mirages never caught up. The price of all that low-level speed was comfort. Below about 6,000 feet the air conditioning barely worked, and pilots climbed out after landing dripping wet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The cannon was the stuff of legend. Mainkar recalled that the aircraft seemed to stop in mid-air when he fired, with smoke and the smell of cordite filling the cockpit and the airframe shuddering under the recoil. Pilots had to fire in short bursts and exit smoothly, or risk an engine surge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZhxJwcvrOA0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Squadron Leader Anshuman Mainkar talks about flying the MiG-27 in Indian Air Force service.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Soviet service and the road to India<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The Soviet Air Force put the MiG-27 into frontline service in the mid-1970s, and it became one of the backbones of Soviet tactical strike units in East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and at home. Its only Soviet combat came late in the Afghanistan war, in 1988 and 1989, when a regiment flew bombing missions from Shindand, held above 5,000 metres by the threat of shoulder-fired missiles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia decided in 1993 to phase out its single-engined attack jets, and the type faded from Russian service. Apart from the Soviet successor states, only India and Sri Lanka operated it. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/sri-lanka-air-force\/\">Sri Lanka Air Force<\/a> bought second-hand MiG-27s from 2000 and flew them in combat during the civil war.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/mig-27upg-su-30mki-rafale-garuda-v-jodhpur-2014.jpg\" alt=\"An upgraded Indian MiG-27 flying with a Su-30MKI and two French Rafales over Jodhpur during Exercise Garuda V\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An upgraded MiG-27 (left) flies with an Indian Su-30MKI and two French Air Force <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/rafale\/\">Rafales<\/a> over Jodhpur during Exercise Garuda V in June 2014. Jodhpur was the type&rsquo;s last home. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:IAF_MiG-27UPG,_Su-30MKI_and_French_Air_Force_Rafale_at_Garuda_V_exercise.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ministry of Defence, Government of India \/ Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>India was by far the most important user. The MiG-27 entered Indian service in 1985, and Hindustan Aeronautics assembled the MiG-27ML under licence. Around 165 served with the IAF over 35 years. From the 2000s, a share of the fleet was upgraded with modern avionics, including multi-function displays, a head-up display, ring-laser-gyro navigation with GPS, and a new electronic warfare suite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Kargil, 1999<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The Bahadur&rsquo;s defining war came in the summer of 1999, when Pakistani troops occupied high ground above Kargil in Kashmir. The IAF sent MiG-27s against positions on mountainsides well above 15,000 feet, firing rockets and cannon at targets tucked into ridgelines. The fuller story of the IAF&rsquo;s high-altitude campaign is in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kargil-1999-operation-safed-sagar-mirage-2000-high-altitude-air-war\/\">The Air War Fought at 18,000 Feet<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On 27 May 1999, Flight Lieutenant Kambampati Nachiketa of No. 9 Squadron was attacking enemy positions in the Batalik sector when his MiG-27&rsquo;s engine flamed out. Accounts differ on the cause: some put it down to the engine ingesting gun or rocket gases in the thin air, others to a possible missile hit. Unable to relight it, he ejected over Pakistani-held territory, was captured, and was handed back to India about a week later. He went on to fly again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;These aircraft have made immense contribution to the nation, both during peace and war. The fleet earned its glory in the historic Kargil conflict when it delivered rockets &amp; bombs with accuracy on enemy positions.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Ministry of Defence, India<\/strong> &mdash; Statement on the MiG-27 retirement, December 2019 (via The Tribune)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The MiG-27 fleet also took part in Operation Parakram, the long military standoff with Pakistan in 2001 and 2002, and flew in international exercises alongside American, French and other air forces. It was never an easy aeroplane, though. The IAF lost a number of MiG-27s in accidents over the years, three of them in 2019 alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/mig-27ml-tu591-no-29-squadron-iaf-museum-palam.jpg\" alt=\"MiG-27ML serial TU591 of No. 29 Squadron on display at the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">MiG-27ML TU591, formerly of No. 29 Squadron, the last IAF unit to fly the type, on display at the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:TU591_MiG-27ML.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arjun Sarup \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Into the sunset at Jodhpur<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>By December 2019, the last operator was No. 29 Squadron at Air Force Station Jodhpur, a unit raised at Halwara in 1958 with the French Ouragan. Two other MiG-27 squadrons had already been disbanded at Hasimara in West Bengal. On 26 December, the IAF announced the farewell on social media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1210199278217355266&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The ceremony on 27 December drew the commander of South Western Air Command, Air Marshal S.K. Ghotia, along with veterans of the type. The squadron&rsquo;s seven remaining jets took part, five of them in the final arrowhead flypast, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/display-teams\/surya-kiran\/\">Surya Kiran<\/a> aerobatic team closed the show. One former Bahadur, TU591, now stands at the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zeVUVS-lkbw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">DD India&rsquo;s report on the MiG-27 decommissioning ceremony at Jodhpur Air Force Station in December 2019.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The MiG-27 was not graceful and it was not forgiving. It was a heavy, fast, heavily armed bomb truck that asked a lot of the people who flew it. For 34 years it gave India a low-level punch, and when it finally flew into the sunset over Jodhpur, it took the swing-wing era of the Indian Air Force with it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Hush-Kit (interview with Sqn Ldr Anshuman Mainkar), The Tribune, Deccan Herald, AIN Online, Aviation Defence Universe, The Better India, U.S. Air Force, Ministry of Defence (India)<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<p class=\"mf-photo-credits\" data-no-translation style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin:6px 0 18px\">Header photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:MiG-27_from_No.18_Squad,_Kalaikunda.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abhi010 \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is the difference between the MiG-23 and the MiG-27?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The MiG-27 is a ground-attack development of the MiG-23 fighter. It dropped the radar for a sloping nose with better downward view and a laser rangefinder, added cockpit armour, fixed intakes and a simpler nozzle, heavier landing gear and a 30 mm six-barrel GSh-6-30 cannon.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was the MiG-27 called Bahadur in India?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Bahadur means brave or valiant, and it was the Indian Air Force name for its MiG-27s, which Hindustan Aeronautics assembled under licence. The IAF flew the MiG-27 Bahadur from 1985 until its last squadron retired the type at Air Force Station Jodhpur on 27 December 2019.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What role did the MiG-27 play in the Kargil War?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">During the 1999 Kargil War the Indian Air Force used MiG-27s to attack Pakistani positions on high mountain ridges with rockets, bombs and cannon. On 27 May 1999 Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa ejected from a MiG-27 after an engine flameout, was captured, and was returned to India about a week later.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did the Indian Air Force retire the MiG-27?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Indian Air Force retired its last MiG-27s on 27 December 2019 at Air Force Station Jodhpur. No. 29 Squadron, the last operator, still had seven aircraft, and five of them flew a final arrowhead flypast flanked by Su-30MKI fighters.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What engine and gun did the MiG-27 have?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The MiG-27 was a single-engine aircraft powered by one Tumansky R-29B-300 afterburning turbojet. Its main gun was the 30 mm GSh-6-30 six-barrel rotary cannon, so powerful that pilots fired in short bursts to avoid airframe damage and engine surge.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which countries flew the MiG-27?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The MiG-27 was flown by the Soviet Union and several successor states, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, plus India and Sri Lanka. India was by far the biggest foreign user, with around 165 aircraft, and Kazakhstan retired its last examples in 2023.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the difference between the MiG-23 and the MiG-27?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The MiG-27 is a ground-attack development of the MiG-23 fighter. It dropped the radar for a sloping nose with better downward view and a laser rangefinder, added cockpit armour, fixed intakes and a simpler nozzle, heavier landing gear and a 30 mm six-barrel GSh-6-30 cannon.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the MiG-27 called Bahadur in India?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Bahadur means brave or valiant, and it was the Indian Air Force name for its MiG-27s, which Hindustan Aeronautics assembled under licence. The IAF flew the MiG-27 Bahadur from 1985 until its last squadron retired the type at Air Force Station Jodhpur on 27 December 2019.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What role did the MiG-27 play in the Kargil War?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"During the 1999 Kargil War the Indian Air Force used MiG-27s to attack Pakistani positions on high mountain ridges with rockets, bombs and cannon. On 27 May 1999 Flight Lieutenant K. 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India was by far the biggest foreign user, with around 165 aircraft, and Kazakhstan retired its last examples in 2023.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mig-23-flogger-swing-wing-fighter-history\/\">MiG-23 Flogger: The Swing-Wing MiG American Pilots Feared<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kargil-1999-operation-safed-sagar-mirage-2000-high-altitude-air-war\/\">The Air War Fought at 18,000 Feet<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/golden-arrows-75-years-no-17-squadron-iaf-mig-21-rafale-ambala\/\">Golden Arrows at 75: No. 17 Squadron, From MiG-21 to Rafale<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<!--mfcred1-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MiG-27 Flogger turned the MiG-23 into a low-level strike jet. India flew it as the Bahadur from 1985, at Kargil in 1999, until a farewell at Jodhpur in 2019.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":32590373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32590462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MiG-27 Flogger: India&#039;s Bahadur Swing-Wing MiG | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MiG-27 Flogger: the ground-attack MiG-23 that India flew as the Bahadur, from Kargil in 1999 to its last flypast at Jodhpur in December 2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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