It was on this day in 1981 when Mig-25, the supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), flew its first sortie. The pilots in the maiden fight of Mig-25 were the then Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Idris Latif and Wing Commander Apram Jeet Singh of the 102 Squadron.


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The Indian Air Force on Sunday took to microblogging site Twitter to share the day in history. A tweet by the IAF read, “#YearsBack on This Day #IAF: On 25 Aug 81, IAF's mighty Mig-25 flew its first sortie. Wg Cdr AJ Singh, CO, 102 Sqn and the then CAS, ACM Idris Latif were the pilots in its maiden flight. Mig-25, 'Garuda', is one of the fastest fighters ever to have entered military service.”



The Mig-25, which is one of the fastest fighter jets in the possession of the Indian Air Force, was inducted into service on August 17, 1981.


The country of origin of Mig-25 is Russia where it was designed by Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau.


According to reports, Mig-25 was originally a “secret weapon” of Russia against US bombers. However, due to a compromise in its secrecy in 1976, it was decided that the aircraft would be supplied to other countries.


The aircraft has been an asset for the Indian Air Force with regard to surveillance as well. There have been reports suggesting that it helped gather key intel from Pakistan on earlier occasions.