| No. 25 Squadron Eagles | |
|---|---|
| Active | Since January 1966; 58 years ago (1966-01) |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan Armed Forces |
| Branch |  Pakistan Air Force |
| Role | Night Strike |
| Part of |
|
| Airbase | PAF Base Rafiqui |
| Nickname(s) | Night Strike Eagles |
| Motto(s) | فضاؤں میں ہیبت کی یلغار ہم (Urdu for 'We are the onslaught of terror in the sky') |
| Mascot(s) | AnEagle |
| Aircraft | Dassault Mirage-5EF ROSE-II[1] |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Imtiaz Bhatti Mushaf Ali Mir |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Dassault Mirage 5EF ROSE-II |
| Fighter | Shenyang F-6C |
| Trainer | Shenyang FT-6 |
The No. 25 Squadron, nicknamed Eagles, is a tactical attack squadron from the No. 34 Wing of the Pakistan Air Force's Central Air Command. It is currently deployed at Rafiqui Airbase and operates ROSE upgraded Dassault Mirage-5EF aircraft.[2][3][4]
The No. 25 Squadron was raised in January 1966 at Sargodha Airbase under the command of Wing Commander Tawab (who later rose to command the BAF) and was one of the first two PAF squadrons to be equipped with the newly inducted Shenyang F-6 fighters; the other being the No. 23 Squadron "Talons". The squadron was tasked with Fighter conversion duties after which the squadron trained a large number of pilots on the Shenyang F-6.[2][5]
In 1967, the squadron took part in a large firepower demonstration in honour of the Shah of Iran while in 1968, the squadron presented an aerobatics display for the Soviet defence minister "Andrei Grechko". The squadron under the leadership of Squadron Leader Imtiaz Bhatti also won the 1968 Inter squadron armament competition.[2][4]
Later in 1980, the squadron received a batch of Shenyang FT-6 trainer jets to facilitate their training program. 6 years later it was shifted to Mianwali Airbase to replace the 14 OCU which had been selected as PAF's third F-16 squadron. The No. 25 Squadron performed its OCU duties till 1995 when it was nominated for the Dassault Mirage 5EF ROSE-IIs after which its assets were transferred to the No. 17 and No. 23 Squadrons which were based at Samungli.[6][5]
After the squadron's last F-6 had taken off for Samungli Airbase, it was transferred to Minhas where it started trials for upgraded Mirage 5s under Project ROSE. Upon receiving its first batch of ROSE-II upgraded Mirages from Dassault in September 1998, it was designated as a Tactical Attack (TA) squadron and assigned the Night Strike role.[6][5]
After hostilities broke out in 1971, the squadron was one of three PAF units operating F-6 fighters.[7] The No. 25 Squadron was on high alert since the Indian invasioninEast Pakistan and flew several Combat Air Patrol & Close Air Support sorties throughout the war. On 4 December, Flight Lieutenant Syed Shahid Raza shot down a Hawker Hunter near Murid Airbase. On 5 December, the Officer Commanding; Wing Commander Saad A. Hatmi and his wingman Flight Lieutenant Javed Qazi each chased down an Indian Hawker Hunter and shot them down over Sakesar. All of the Indian warplanes belonged to the No. 27 Squadron IAF.[8][9][10]
Later during the Battle of Shakargarh, the squadron flew several CAS missions against Indian forces invading the Shakargarh area of Pakistan during which an F-6 flown by Flight Lieutenant Syed Shahid Raza was lost to enemy ground fire, though he was seen ejecting, Raza was never found and declared MIA by the PAF. He was later awarded the Tamgha-i-Jurat.[2][11][12]
In the 1990s, while based at Samungli Airbase, the Squadron provided vital air defence to Pakistan's nuclear assets notably from Indian and Israeli attacks.[13][14] After the Chagai-II nuclear detonations, the mission was accomplished.[2]
The No. 25 Squadron while equipped with Dassault Mirage 5EF ROSE-IIs took active part in the KPK Insurgency. The Close Air Support provided by the squadron's Mirages in several Counterinsurgency operations by the Government of Pakistan in the former FATA regions played an important role in flushing out most of the terrorist groups.
In 2019, Pakistan launched Operation Swift Retort against various Indian military targets in Indian Held Kashmir. The heightened tensions between the two countries resulted in the No. 25 Squadron along with other squadrons being put on high alert exercises. In one of these exercises, the Squadron's Dassault Mirage-IIIDP jets performed runway operations on the M1 Motorway.[15]
| No. 25 Squadron Eagles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Operational | Aircraft | Notes |
| Air Superiority | 1966-1995 | Shenyang F-6C | [9] |
| Tactical Attack | 1996–Present | Dassault Mirage-5EF ROSE-II | [16] |
Following is the list of known OCs of the No. 25 Squadron.[17]
| Rank | Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wing Commander | Muhammad Ghulam Tawab | January 1966 | unknown |
| Squadron Leader | Imtiaz Bhatti | unknown | unknown |
| Wing Commander | Saad A. Hatmi | unknown | unknown |
| Wing Commander | Malik Nazar Hussein | July 1988 | October 1988 |
| Wing Commander | Yalmaz Arshi | October 1988 | January 1990 |
| Wing Commander | Shahid Nisar Khan | January 1990 | July 1991 |
| Wing Commander | Naeem Ashraf | July 1991 | July 1993 |
| Wing Commander | Tahir Ehsan Malik | July 1993 | December 1994 |
| Wing Commander | Zafar Yasin | December 1994 | June 1997 |
| Wing Commander | Waqar Haider | June 1997 | February 1999 |
| Wing Commander | Jawed Ahmed | February 1999 | July 2000 |
| Wing Commander | Abrar Ghalib | July 2000 | December 2001 |
| Wing Commander | Tariq Nazir | December 2001 | April 2003 |
| Wing Commander | M Ilyas Sultan | April 2003 | July 2004 |
| Wing Commander | Aamir Bin Naeem | Jul-2004 | December 2005 |
| Wing Commander | Hamid Randhawa | December 2005 | unknown |
By the time the 71 war loomed, PAF had operationalized three squadrons of the F-6. The pilots of No 11, 23, and 25 squadrons were those who had extensive prior experience on the F-86s.
1971 SHUHUDA section
No. 25 Squadron Mirage-IIIDP aircraft taking off from Motorway
No. 25 squadron was re-equipped as a transient squadron for ROSE modified aircraft in April 1996.
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