The MiG-27K (or MiG-23BK before being adopted into service) was one of the first aircraft armed...

...with high-precision missiles with laser and TV guidance systems.

The MiG-27K was equipped with the latest PrNK-23K targeting and navigation system, which included the Orbita 20-23K on-board digital computer and the Kaira-23 laser-television targeting system (in Russian LTPS) which allowed the manual and automatic target tracking.
Such LTPS takes its name from the name of the bird “Kaira” (in Italian Uria), whose eyes can look in different directions during flight and even “into the tail”.

Until the early 1980s, the Soviet VVS did not have an aircraft that could compare to the Kaira in terms of combat effectiveness. Only the appearance of the Su-24M, with a similar sighting system, supplanted the Kaira and even then it was inferior in terms of cost-effectiveness.
Unfortunately, by decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, since 1993, the "Kaira" and other single-engine aircraft have gone under the knife.

Most photos by Rob Schleiffert.