Mumbai to get its very own MiG 27

The MiG-27 may be mired in controversy with the Indian Air Force’s decision to ground its fleet of the Russian fighters earlier this year, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation may have a novel use for the plane. The Indian Air Force (IAF) central command in Delhi donated an airframe of one of its MiGs to the municipal body with a request that it be installed at the Horniman Circle Gardens, Fort.

The glitch, however, is the 12,081 sq yard of park space is a notified Grade Two heritage precinct and any such move would need a nod from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). The proposal will be tabled before the MHCC on Thursday for approval.

But it will not be the first aircraft exhibit in Mumbai: Diamond Gardens, Chembur has a similar installation. Meanwhile, the BMC has already started looking for alternatives. Several traffic islands in South Mumbai including Vasudev Balwant Phadke Marg and Shyam Prasad Mukherji Chowk are the top contenders.

“The heavy green cover at Horniman may hinder a person’s view of the plane. So, we have kept two other options ready if the original location does not get a nod from the MHCC,’’ said a senior BMC official.

The IAF grounded its fleet after a MiG crashed in Siliguri, West Bengal in February this year, but the donation of this airframe—constructed mostly of titanium and high-strength aluminium alloys—is being given away as part of IAF’s regular image-building exercise, said officials. The length of a regular MIG-27 frame is 56ft length, and it stands 16ft tall.
“This particular aircraft may have been decommissioned because of its old age. But instead of simply disposing of it, we have donated it as an exhibit. It could be a good tourist attraction for Mumbai,’’ said Captain Manohar Nambiar, Chief PRO, Defence (Western Region).

The custom of donating reputed carriers, aircraft and tanks has become a part of city’s beautification efforts. The state government is now thinking of turning INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy that was decommissioned on January 31, 1997, into a museum. The ship played a key role in the Indo-Pak war in 1997.