New Delhi, May 21: A missing MiG-27 fighter of the Indian Air Force that had taken off from the Hashimara airbase in north Bengal two days ago has still not been found despite a search and rescue effort that has been hampered by bad weather.

The MiG-27 is a single-engine ground attack aircraft. Its loss and the fact that it has still not been found points to a hole in the equipment that should be mounted on the IAF fighters.

The air force is committed to installing detection equipment, called personal locator beacons, on these aircraft. It is possible that the MiG-27 that had taken off from Hashimara and other fighters have not yet been equipped with the device.

Personal locator beacons are transmitters capable of emitting radio signals for about 48 hours. An older generation of “locators” transmits signals for a shorter duration. It is possible that the MiG-27 did not have an upgraded locator.

Two years ago, when a MiG-21 from the Mig Operational Flying Training Unit in Tezpur, Assam, had gone missing possibly over the Manas jungle on the Assam-Bhutan border, the IAF had decided to instal the equipment.

All IAF aircraft keep in constant touch with air traffic control during sorties. In the case of the MiG-27 from Hashimara, the pilot, Flying Officer Ajit Sinha, 25, had even reported sighting the Bagdogra airbase — its destination — to the control at Hashimara before it stopped blipping on the radar. Sinha was “converting” from the MiG 21 to the MiG-27. The flying time between Hashimara and Bagdogra was estimated at around 20 minutes.

It is not usual, either, for IAF aircraft to go “missing”. Since 1990, three fighter aircraft have gone missing.

Air Force sources in New Delhi said the search for the MiG-27 would carry on. “We have not given up hope yet.” Indian authorities have also been in touch with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh since Sinha’s sortie was over the “chicken neck” — the junction of the land borders of the three countries. But they have already conveyed that the plane has not been found in their areas, reports PTI.