Geofizika on the fuselage is the official name of the M-55 for civil applications. The emblem on the cockpit side is the official logo of the Myasishchev Design Bureau. The large white tank visible in the upper part of this picture doesn’t belong to the Mystic but is installed on the Myasishchev VM-T Bison transport aircraft in the background.

The M-17’s weapon system was tested on Tu-16 Badger 57 red which had an M-17 front fuselage section installed in the nose. It was photographed on September 4. 1993 in an open-ended hangar outside the Myasishchev facility at Zhukovsky.

M-55 RF-55204 taking-off for its display at the Berlin International Aerospace Exhibition ILA 94. The aft-retracting main undercarriage may be seen partially retracted.

CCCP-55203 is the third M-55 prototype. M-55s have been seen with two different underfuselage radomes, this is the longer of the two designs.

This view of RF-01552 emphasises the M-55’s sturdy two-wheel main undercarriage and makes an interesting comparison with the lightweight configuration adopted for the similar-role Lockheed U-2.

A civil colour scheme and Geofizika logo have been adopted to market the M-55 for commercial applications. This view of the first prototype M-55, RF-01552, clearly illustrates the type's distinctive twin-engine, twin-boom, high aspect-ratio configuration.

The twin-engined first prototype of the M-55 Mystic-B RF-01552. The wingspan of the M-17 is 2.86m bigger than that of the M-55. Note also the different wing tips.

Basic instrument layout and analogue displays of the M-55 are typical of those aircraft designed in the 1960s and 1970s.

Seen on the scrap dump at Zhukovsky, rear fuselage, and tail boom sections of M-55 CCCP-23570.

Three-view drawing of M-17RM (M-55) Mystic-B and side view of two-seater M-55U trainer.

M-17-3 (CCCP-17103) is currently displayed at Monino museum, surprisingly with civil markings.

Single-engine configuration of the M-17-4 Mystic-A CCCP-17401. The wingspan of the M-17 is 2.86m bigger than that of the M-55. Note also the different wing tips.

M-17-4 in flight over Ramenskoye during its first public appearance on August 18, 1989. This same aircraft, CCCP-17401, has been used for research flights and has set international air records, for which the electro-optical sight has been removed from the fuselage.

Three-view drawing of M-17 Chayka

Three-view drawing of M-17-3 Mystic-A