Indian Air Force SuryaKiran Aerobatic Team Will Give You Goosebumps

Surya Kiran (“Sun Rays”) is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 to serve as the “Ambassadors of the Indian Air Force” and to “showcase the professionalism, the caliber and the mettle of the Indian Air Force”. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations in various parts of the country and abroad, and was amongst the renowned nine-aircraft public display aerobatic teams in the world. The squadron was primarily composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft and are based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka. The team was suspended in February 2011 due to shortage of basic jet trainers in IAF after grounding of HPT-32 trainers. Air Chief Marshall P.V. Naik said that Surya Kiran will upgrade to the BAE Hawk in 2015.