“She was a great teacher so long as you respected her. She would talk to you - little sounds, indications, et al. and she appreciated a thoughtful response,” Sqn Ldr (retd.) Anshuman Manikar fondly recalls his experience of flying the MiG-27 swing-wing fighter jet. He was at the Jodhpur Air Force station on Friday for the ceremony of de-induction of the last squadron of the aircraft with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
This also means that the IAF’s combat strength has now fallen to 28 fighter squadrons, way below the authorised strength of 42.
Sqn Ldr Manikar said his best recollection was low-level, high-speed runs over range, “optimum mix of fun and watchfulness and a complete adrenaline rush.” The trainer variant was considerably different from the fighter. “Not a drawback really, but fighter trips were so much better, ergonomics-wise. But that was a small cost to pay, given the diverse variants she serviced,” he told
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This marks the end of another Russian MiG series of fighters in the Indian inventory. All the other MiG-variants, such as MiG-23 BN & MiG-23 MF and the pure MiG 27 have already been retired from the IAF. The upgraded MiG-21 Bisons and MiG-29s now remain in service of which the MiG-21s are scheduled to be phased out very soon.