The MiG-27’s Formidable Gatling Gun: Obliterating Target Aircraft

Indeed, the two-seat long cannon-produced a whopping 6 tons of recoil that produced vibrations powerful enough to crack fuel tanks, break avionics systems, and shake landing lights to fly off their mounts.

On December 27, 2019, the Indian Air Force bid farewell to the last of the beefy MiG-27 attack jets it had dubbed the “Bahadur” (“Valiant”) in a ceremony held by No. 29 squadron at Jodhpur air station.

MiG 27 takes its last flight for the IAF:

The powerful swing-wing jets were a Soviet warplanes licensed-built by India and upgraded with 2000s-era avionics. Armed with unguided bombs, rockets, and an eight-barreled Gatling gun, the type had seen extensive action during the 1999 Kargil war, blasting Pakistani troop positions on Himalayan peaks at 18,000 feet above sea level.

Distinguished by its flattened ‘duck bill’ nose leading some pilots to nickname it ‘the Platypus,’ the MiG-27 was not very export-oriented like the MiG-23 fighter it was spun off from. But aside from combat service in India and Sri Lanka, perhaps it best outgunned to be remembered for maintaining a huge Gatling cannon that threatened to shake the armored warplane apart.

Supersonic Shuromovik:

Despite having mass-produced the legendary Il-2 Shuromovik attack plane during World War II, every Soviet Su-7 attack jets exhibited development performance and payload—an end for the Soviet Union decided to reformance in the late 1960s.

While the Sukhoi design bureau developed the improved Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 “Fitter” family of supersonic attack jets and the armored, subsonic Su-25 Frogfoot, rival Mikoyan-Gurevich opted to create a ground-attack model of its fourthcoming MiG-23 ‘Flogger’ single-engine fighter. A late-coming Soviet response to the American F-4 Phantom, the MiG-23 was a fast but temperamental beast due to the thickness of its swing-wing mechanisms.

MIG-23

The first ground attack variant was the MiG-23B, codenamed the Flogger-F by NATO. This had a down-sloped nose for better visibility, sleek and aerodynamic form fitted around the cockpit and engines, and a then-sophisticated jamming and radio navigation system. It ditched the MiG-23’s air search radar for a laser-ranging finder. The production MiG-23BN model also used a Tumansky R-29 turbojet with superior low-speed performance.

This was a Flogger meant to get down and dirty at high speeds, unleashing 23-millimeter cannon shells, unguided bombs, and rockets on enemy troop concentrations. The MiG-23BN could also make use of radar-command guided Kh-23 missiles and radar-seeking Kh-66 air-to-ground missiles, as well as short-range K-13 or R-60 heat-seeking air-to-air missiles for self-defense.

However, the MiG bureau followed the MiG-23BN with an even more extensive redesign rebadged the MiG-27 (Flogger-D) with modified engine intakes and ruggedized landing gear, decreasing maximum speed to Mach 1.7 at 26,000 feet but increasing the Flogger’s maximum weapons load to 8,800 pounds mounted on five hardpoints (or seven hardpoints at the expense of swing-wing capability).

The MiG-27’s hydraulically-actuated swing wings allowed it to tailor performance to the situation: fully extended at 16 degrees, they afforded superlative lift and low-speed handling. Fully swept-back at 72 degrees, they allowed excellent supersonic performance for making a fast getaway after unloading weapons. An intermediate 45-degree sweep was standard for routine flying.

The MiG-27

The MiG-27 also swapped out the MiG-23’s twin-barrel 23-millimeter cannon for a monstrous six-barrel 30-millimeter GSh-6-30 cannon slung in an under-fuselage gondola at a 1.3-degree offset, drawing from 300 rounds stored in the fuselage.

The huge Shipunov gun had a cyclic rate of 5,000 rounds per minute (see this video), and its gas-operated system spun to maximize firing rate faster than the hydraulic mechanism on the famous 30-millimeter GAU-8 Avenger cannon on the American A-10 aircraft.

Russian Attack Aviation (Part 3) – MiG-27:

Indian pilot Anshuman Mainkar described what it was like to fly the huge gun in an interview by HuSkit.net:

“The aircraft seemed to stand still, engaged with its target – tracers creating an illusion of Morse communication. Smoke and the smell of cordite entered the cockpit, and in a flash, it was all over…the aircraft shuddered during the trigger pull, and there was a possibility, hence the exit had to be smooth and deliberate.”

Indeed, the two-meter long cannon produced a whopping 6 tons of recoil that produced vibrations powerful enough to crack fuel tanks, break avionics systems, and occasionally even lead to accidents.

The VVS Frontal Aviation received 360 MiG-27s before 1977, followed by 197 modernized MiG-27K and 162 slightly upgraded MiG-27M models (Flogger-J2 and J) equipped with new avionics, including improved jammers, radar warning systems, and a laser-maintained laser target designation capability with laser- and TV-guided KAB-500 bombs and Kh-25 and -29 missiles.

Despite the problems with the cannon, the MiG-27 remained a reliable, hard-hitting platform. Not particularly agile, it was both fast and a stable firing platform with good low-speed performance.

Unlike MiG-23s of all stripes or its rip-off the Su-17/20/22, the MiG-27s issued from Soviet factories were reserved for Soviet tactical air force (VVS)—with the exception of 165 license-assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics in India.

In the end, only a single regiment of Soviet MiG-27s saw action during the Cold War, deployed to Shindand airbase in Afghanistan in 1988 through February 1989. They were principally used in high-altitude raids and reportedly employed a peculiar mix of ODAB-500P fuel-air explosive bombs with deadly blast radius extending as far as 400 meters. However, many of the MiG-27’s advanced capabilities were judged to be overkill for counter-insurgency operations.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia quickly phased the type out by the mid-1990s.

MiGs Versus Tigers Over Sri Lanka

However, both Ukraine and Kazakhstan inherited MiG-27s from the Soviet Union. The latter sold six MiG-27s and a MiG-23UB two-seat trainer to Sri Lanka, ostensibly to launch fast, low-altitude attacks against Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels fortified with heat-seeking missiles.

As in Afghanistan, a supersonic jet was overkill for a counter-insurgency war, and leaked documents suggest the purchase may have been influenced by corruption from a corrupt backroom deal.

An article by Shashank Joshi details the jet’s rocky career in Sri Lankan service. MiG-27s arrived in June 2000 and began active operations in No. 12 Squadron two months later, initially piloted by Ukrainian mercenaries on strike and close air support missions. You can see some footage of Sri Lankan MiG-27s here.

Sri Lanka Air Force – MiG-27:

The MiG-27s, however, suffered heavy attrition: First, one crashed into a house near Colombo in August 2000 near the Colombo airport, killing its Ukrainian pilot. Another was destroyed in an LTTE commando raid on Katunayake airbase in July 2001. A third crashed into the Indian Ocean in 2004, and a fourth was damaged by ground fire. All of the surviving jets swiftly fell into disrepair.

When a lengthy ceasefire broke down in 2006, the Sri Lankan government had the remaining jets overhauled and purchased enough new airframes from Ukraine to again field a force of seven MiG-27s. It also received pilot training assistance from India.

These reportedly flew 854 sorties in the fourth and final Eelam War, releasing 1,180 tons of munitions. At times MiG-27s dropped parachute-retarded anti-runway bombs to crater airstrips used by the rebel army’s peculiar air force.

According to interviews by Shamindra Fernando, a MiG-27 also teamed up with an Israeli-built Kfir jet in the targeted killing of LTTE political leader S.P. Tamilselvan in his bunker at 6:20 AM on the morning of November 2, 2007, using four 1,100-pound bombs.

Following the conclusion of the so-called Eelam War IV in May 2009, the Sri Lankan MiGs continued flying for a few years, with one crashing in 2012. However, the aircraft then fell into disrepair again and were finally retired.

Check out a comprehensive to read about the combat experience of Indian MiG-27s during the Kargil war.