New Delhi,DEC 27: The MiG-27 fighter, which proved to be an “ace attacker” during the 1999 Kargil War, will roar through the skies for one last time today after serving the Indian Air Force or IAF for over three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nswing-wing fighter has been the backbone of ground-attack fleet of the Air\nForce for several decades and the IAF will give a farewell to its squadron of\nseven aircraft from Jodhpur Air Base, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The\nupgraded variant of this last swing-wing fleet has been the pride of IAF strike\nfleet since 2006. All other variants, such as MiG-23 BN and MiG-23 MF and the\npure MiG-27 have already retired from IAF,” the defence ministry said on\nThursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The\nfleet earned its glory in the historic Kargil conflict when it delivered\nrockets and bombs with accuracy on enemy positions. The fleet also took active\npart in Operation Parakram,” the ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nNumber 29 Squadron is the only unit in the IAF operating the MiG-27 upgrades,\nit said in a statement. The upgraded version, because of its survivability, has\nparticipated in numerous national and international exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsquadron was raised on March 10, 1958, at Air Force Station Halwara with\nOuragan (Toofani) aircraft. “Over the years, the Squadron has been\nequipped with numerous types of fighters such as MiG-21 Type 77, MiG-21 Type\n96, MiG-27 ML and MiG-27 upgrade,” the ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsquadron is now slated to be number plated on March 31, 2020, with December 27\nbeing its last flying day, thereby making the swing-wing fleet a part of IAF’s\nglorious history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Various\nfunctions have been planned for the de-induction ceremony at Air Force Station,\nJodhpur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nIAF also tweeted about MiG-27’s last sortie today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“#AdieuMiG27\nIndian Air Force bids farewell to the mighty MiG-27 tomorrow. The aircraft will\nbe decommissioned in a grand ceremony to be held at Air Force Station Jodhpur\non 27 December 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This\nformidable ground attack fighter aircraft has served the Nation for over three\ndecades. Inducted in 1985, MiG-27 has been the mainstay of IAF”s ground attack\ncapability. It has participated in all major #IAF operations and has played a\nstellar role in the 1999 Kargil War,” the IAF said in a series of tweets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nlethal aircraft, for their role during the 1999 Kargil War, earned the moniker\n”Bahadur” from IAF pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Veteran\nair warriors along with serving air warriors in large numbers are taking part\nin the ceremony. Air Marshal SK Ghotia VSM, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief\nSouth Western Air Command would be presiding over the wind down ceremony,”\nthe defence ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-PTI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi,DEC 27: The MiG-27 fighter, which proved to be an “ace attacker” during the 1999 Kargil War, will roar through the skies for one last time today after serving<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[6055,3812,6054],"class_list":["post-34809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","tag-fighter-jet","tag-indian-air-force","tag-mig-27"],"yoast_head":"\n