IAF revives aerobatics team after four years

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 30

The Indian Air Force has revived its daredevil aerobatic team Surya Kiran.

The team shall perform after a gap of four years on Air Force Day, October 8, at the Hindon airbase located east of Delhi.

Another aerobatic team riding the newly acquired Pilatus-PC 7 trainer aircraft will make its debut that day.

The Surya Kiran team will be flying the British-origin ‘Hawk’, a trainer jet produced by BAE systems, and not the ones used earlier – the Kiran MK-2.

The size of the team has been reduced from nine aircraft to four planes. The team was disbanded four years ago after the Kiran Mk-2 trainer jets used by the Surya Kiran team were diverted for training rookie pilots in the IAF.

The Kiran Mk 2 is used for intermediate training of pilots. However, after the grounding of the HPT 32 basic trainers, the IAF was forced to train pilots onboard Kiran Mk 2 that were actually meant for the second stage of training.

“The new SKAT (Surya Kiran aerobatic team) comprising four Hawk aircraft will make its maiden appearance at the Air Force Day parade. This will be followed by an aerobatic display by Pilatus,” said Group Captain Sundeep Mehta, spokesperson of IAF’s Western Air Command.

IAF pilots had been preparing onboard the Hawk for the past eight months as the top speed of the Hawk (1,028 km per hour) is much more than the 695 km per hour possible on the Kiran Mk 2.