In March 1982, the USSR and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the licensed production of the MiG-27 at the facilities of the HAL corporation. Earlier, a similar agreement was concluded for the Franco-British Jaguar fighter-bomber, with deliveries starting in the summer of 1979. It can be considered the "western counterpart" of the MiG-27. Indicative is the very fact that, having bought Jaguars and putting them on stream in their own country, the Indian government, nevertheless, acquired the MiG-27 as well. Perhaps due to high technology, both Jaguar and the MiG-27, the military hoped to modernize the previously acquired MiG-23BN. Relatively cheap, they had high flight performance and combat load, but carried simplified equipment.
Irkutsk and Moscow specialists helped the Indians to master a rather complex MiG in production at the customer's site. A group of Soviet engineers worked in Nasik for the entire second half of 1982. At first, the Irkutsk aircraft plant was delivering ready-made aircraft (although, after the fly-over, they were partially disassembled for transportation by sea). Then - units, assemblies and parts for machines that were built under the licensed program. The first locally assembled aircraft was rolled out in October 1984. It was accepted by the customer before the next one. And on January 11, 1986, squadron No. 32 Tiger Sharks on the Mi G-27 reported full combat readiness.
The hundredth MiG was assembled in May 1992. His share of locally produced components was 74%. The Indian Air Force gave the MiG-27ML its own codename Bahadur ("brave"). He entered the following squadrons: # 32 Tiger Sharks, # 2 Winged Arrows, # 18 Flying Bullets, # 22 and # 222 Wolfpack.
The implementation of a large-scale licensed production program for the MiG-27 was divided into four phases. Phase 1 - technological kits. Phase 2 and Phase 3 are ready-made assemblies and assemblies. Phase 4 - delivery from our country only of materials, sheet duralumin, forgings and blanks. For a combination of reasons, local rental was not suitable … HAL bought numerically controlled machines independently in the West.
The airframe and the final assembly of the MiGs were made near the city of Nasic at the headquarters of the Nasic Aircraft Division, units and systems - Lucknow. The R-29B-300 engines were produced at the Koraput plant. Bharat Electronics in Hyderabad was engaged in the manufacture of avionics elements. The factory in Korwa made laser systems and electronics.
HAL Nasic Aircraft Division is located 24 kilometers from the city, in the village of Ojhar. This department was founded in 1964, when large-scale military-technical cooperation between our states began. The MiG Aircraft Complex was built here especially for the production of the MiG-21FL. The first delivery of the MiG-21FL assembled here dates from October 1970, the MiG-21M - November 1975. Then it was the turn of the MiG-21bis. When a strike aircraft was added to the front-line fighter, the number of people employed at the complex in Nasik exceeded eight thousand people.
Over time, the range of work performed expanded and covered overhaul and modernization of MiGs (in addition to industry, this was also done by the 11 Base Maintenance Depot, located nearby, of the Ministry of Defense). To this end, well-equipped production sites have been established. They still carry out quite complex work on the MiG-27, with a complete disassembly of the aircraft and its subsequent assembly.
The engine department of the Koraput Division was created almost simultaneously with the Nasic Division. Since April 1964 the specialization of the enterprise has invariably been the production of engines for MiG fighters. The Indians started with the R-11-F2 for the MiG-21FL, then mastered the R-25 for the MiG-21 bis. This created a good base for mastering the larger and more complex R-29B-300. Among other things, Koraput Division manufactures compressor and turbine blades for Migovsky motors. Since 2000, the company has been overhauling R-29B-300.
Avionics Division Korwa was founded in 1982. He began his practical activity with the equipment of a Jaguar fighter-bomber. In 1987, she also took up the topic of the MiG-27. Thanks to this, the number of employees has grown to one thousand one hundred people, including two hundred highly qualified engineers. And the manufacturing facility expanded to cover a total area of 38,000 square feet. Among the components produced by Avionics Division Korwa for the MiG-27 by the Indians themselves, the following are mentioned: "System 44LK", inertial and Doppler navigation equipment, an air signal system, a stabilized sight against the background of an ASP-17VG windshield, a monitor for presenting information to the IT-23M pilot, a computer data processing, laser rangefinder-designator "Klen-PM", means of onboard registration of flight parameters and others.
So the program for the licensed production of the MiG-27ML turned out to be quite extensive, giving work to many thousands of Indians. In total, the residents of the Republic assembled 67 aircraft from foreign kits and 98 "from raw materials." Thus, the total production of Bahadurs in India was 165 units. All were delivered to the customer before 1997. As of 2003, the Indian Air Force possessed 133 aircraft of this brand. They were operated by five squadrons. According to information in the open press, today the Indian Air Force is operating more than one hundred MiG-27s. The acquired competencies and production base allow India to act as suppliers of spare parts to third countries that continue to operate aircraft of the MiG-23/27 family.
Local experts believe that the more than a hundred MiG-27ML fighter-bombers in service with the Indian Air Force can last another ten years. According to the analysis of the actual state of the leading aircraft, the airframe resource of 3000 hours established by the aircraft developer can be increased by 1200 hours, they believe. It is known for sure that forty aircraft underwent limited modernization. The modernization project was developed by the Defense Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), a branch of the government research structure DRDO of the Indian Ministry of Defense. DARE executives talk about the successful completion of their program. They argue that "for a small price" and "making full use of national competencies," aircraft development in the late seventies has reached the state of the art.
The corresponding project was launched in 2002. The first demonstrator plane took off on March 25, the second on November 4, 2004. Together, on tests, they flew over three hundred hours. In June 2006, the Department of Defense issued DRDO - DARE preliminary approval for Initial Operational Clearance. It opened the way for work on airplanes in order. After modernization, two squadrons were equipped with them. The modified vehicles received the designation MiG-27UPG.
From the original factory configuration, 40% of the onboard systems remained, mainly of the "mechanical type". At the same time, the outdated avionics (avionics) were partially replaced on the aircraft. At the same time, various technologies and components were widely used, previously developed within the framework of the Su-30MKI programs and the modernization of Jaguar aircraft under the DARIN-2 program. In particular, a CAC (Core Avionics Computer) computer is installed on the MiG-27UPG, which had previously passed checks on the fighter of the OKB im. ON. Sukhoi.
During the modernization, the principles of open architecture were used. Various elements are connected via the data bus of the MIL-STD-1553B standard. The aircraft now has an integrated flight and weapons control system IFWCS. Also, MiGs are equipped with new means of electronic warfare, a radio altimeter, advanced communication systems with secure data transmission channels, as well as an inertial navigation system with correction based on the INGPS satellite signal.
To correct the trajectory of missiles and bombs with laser guidance, the Laser Designator Pod (LDP - target illumination for missile guidance) and Laser Ranger & Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS, ranging and initial targeting) systems are used. They are largely integrated, thereby expanding the capabilities of the fighter-bomber to attack targets at night. FAB-250, FAB-500 and their foreign counterparts, as well as guided Griffin bombs with laser beam guidance, can be used to engage ground targets.
A moving map of the area appeared at the pilot's disposal. The image is displayed on a Thales multipurpose color indicator (MFI) with a 5-by-5-inch matrix, similar to those used on the Su-30MKI and other types of aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Other innovations on board include a digital recording system for flight parameters.
The cockpit has become more "pilot-friendly" due to the above-mentioned MFI and the indicator against the background of the El Op SU-967 windshield of the Israeli firm Elta (close to the Su-30MKI ILS). The Tarang Mk II radar warning system is also installed here. It is possible to supplement them with others using a common data bus.
During the development of software for the MiG-27UPG aircraft, Indian specialists created software packages with a total of half a million lines in programming languages. DARE and specialized institutes of the Air Force have developed algorithms for navigation, calculating the range and trajectory of weapons of destruction after the release, which ensure accurate destruction of targets with various types of bombs and missiles. The MiG-27UPG also implements automatic flight according to turning points of the route in the memory of the on-board computer.
Interfacing with the Israeli suspended Litening container for issuing target designation to guided weapons of the Israeli company Rafael is provided. And also the use of a container with reconnaissance equipment Vinten Vicon 18.
The aircraft in formation were being finalized at the facilities of the HAL Nasik Division. The relevant topic followed after the completion in 2007 of the program of modernization of 125 front-line MiG-21bis fighters into the MiG-21bis UPG version, which is also known as Bison. During the implementation of the MiG-27UPG project, cooperation with private companies TCS and ComAvia was carried out "with the aim of applying the latest technologies" in the field of microelectronics and computer technology. As a result of the modernization carried out, the MiG-27ML "was transformed into a powerful strike platform with a cockpit of improved ergonomics," notes DARE.
