Indian Air Force "Trisonics", October 1990
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 12:25 pm
Six MiG-25R reconnaissance aircraft (serial KP351 to 356) together with two MiG-25U conversion trainers (serials DS361 and 362) arrived in India in mid-1981 and formed No.102 "Trisonics" Squadron after they were re-assembled with soviet assistance. As the Squadron name suggests, the arrival of these aircraft propelled the IAF into the trisonic era. Two additional MiG-25R arrived most likely some years later. They were based at Air Force Station Bareilly until their retirement in May 2006.
I had the privilege to do some photography work with the Indian Air Force in late 1990 as a coffee table book was in the works on the "modern" Indian Air Force and I was tasked to do the air to air photography which made me the first civilian flying in IAF jets and the first photographer taking pictures of the MiG-25s in action which until then had been kept under a tight wrap.
And then there was Project "Mammoth" which involved flying 10 different combat jets from ten different squadrons to Air Force Station Adampur and Ambala to photograph a 10-ship mixed formation (more about this in another post).
Three MiG-25 flew to Air Force Station Adampur to participate in project "Mammoth" where I had the opportunity to take these pictures.
KP3106 was part of the second delivery.
KP354 from the first delivery is painted in a darker grey.
Starting up the MiG-25R is a lengthy procedure taking around 20 minutes involving a dedicated ground crew team. The pilot is wearing a high-altitude pressure suit VKK-6M (due to flights up to 100,000 feet), which isn't much fun on a 35-degree day.
This picture shows nicely how large the aircraft is!
And in flight north of Adampur.
When taking the air to air pictures from a Jaguar IB, we started losing the MiG-25R in the turn and I made the pilot I flew with aware of this - he laughed and said, I know, but we are already on 100% power.
Project "Mammoth" also provided the opportunity to fly a mixed MiG formation of the whole MiG family in IAF use at the time which was one of these "once in a lifetime" moment!
They are MiG-21M from No.101 Squadron, MiG-23MF from No.224 Squadron, MiG-25R from No.102 Squadron, MiG-27M from No.9 Squadron and MiG-29 from No.223 Squadron in a vic formation.
And the same aircraft in a right echelon formation.
It was great to see that one of the three aircraft which came to Adampur was DS362, one of the two MiG-25U trainers from No.102 Squadron. Most likely the only jet trainer where the trainee pilot is seated in the rear cockpit and the instructor in the front.
And in flight as seen from an Antonov An-32 late in the afternoon on a very hazy day.
As the maximal permissible speed of the An-32 with the rear ramp open was less than the minimal speed of the MiG-25, we had the side door removed to take these pictures.
The mentioned coffee table book was named "Touching The Sky, The Indian Air Force Today", written by Pusbindar Sing Chopra, was published in 1991.
Six airframes still exist today and are on display at various locations in India, but most (if not all) are unfortunately no longer in the original paint schemes. More on the operational history of the IAF MiG-25 can be found here: https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/iaf/airc ... s/mig-25r/
Thanks for looking.
Cheers, Peter
I had the privilege to do some photography work with the Indian Air Force in late 1990 as a coffee table book was in the works on the "modern" Indian Air Force and I was tasked to do the air to air photography which made me the first civilian flying in IAF jets and the first photographer taking pictures of the MiG-25s in action which until then had been kept under a tight wrap.
And then there was Project "Mammoth" which involved flying 10 different combat jets from ten different squadrons to Air Force Station Adampur and Ambala to photograph a 10-ship mixed formation (more about this in another post).
Three MiG-25 flew to Air Force Station Adampur to participate in project "Mammoth" where I had the opportunity to take these pictures.
KP3106 was part of the second delivery.
KP354 from the first delivery is painted in a darker grey.
Starting up the MiG-25R is a lengthy procedure taking around 20 minutes involving a dedicated ground crew team. The pilot is wearing a high-altitude pressure suit VKK-6M (due to flights up to 100,000 feet), which isn't much fun on a 35-degree day.
This picture shows nicely how large the aircraft is!
And in flight north of Adampur.
When taking the air to air pictures from a Jaguar IB, we started losing the MiG-25R in the turn and I made the pilot I flew with aware of this - he laughed and said, I know, but we are already on 100% power.
Project "Mammoth" also provided the opportunity to fly a mixed MiG formation of the whole MiG family in IAF use at the time which was one of these "once in a lifetime" moment!
They are MiG-21M from No.101 Squadron, MiG-23MF from No.224 Squadron, MiG-25R from No.102 Squadron, MiG-27M from No.9 Squadron and MiG-29 from No.223 Squadron in a vic formation.
And the same aircraft in a right echelon formation.
It was great to see that one of the three aircraft which came to Adampur was DS362, one of the two MiG-25U trainers from No.102 Squadron. Most likely the only jet trainer where the trainee pilot is seated in the rear cockpit and the instructor in the front.
And in flight as seen from an Antonov An-32 late in the afternoon on a very hazy day.
As the maximal permissible speed of the An-32 with the rear ramp open was less than the minimal speed of the MiG-25, we had the side door removed to take these pictures.
The mentioned coffee table book was named "Touching The Sky, The Indian Air Force Today", written by Pusbindar Sing Chopra, was published in 1991.
Six airframes still exist today and are on display at various locations in India, but most (if not all) are unfortunately no longer in the original paint schemes. More on the operational history of the IAF MiG-25 can be found here: https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/iaf/airc ... s/mig-25r/
Thanks for looking.
Cheers, Peter
