Falcons in yellow and blue

Sunkar, Kazakh for falcon, was formed in late 2010 within the Kazakh Air Defence Forces as one of the service’s two aerobatic teams. It flies six Aero L-39 Albatros trainers in the national colours of yellow, white and blue. English Wikipedia places the team at the 604th Air Base at Taldykorgan; the Russian-language article puts it at an air base in Astana. The team made its name at the KADEX arms exhibition in Astana, which Wikipedia dates to March 2011 and the Russian article to 2012.

Parades and an uncertain present

Sunkar has flown over the Defender of the Fatherland Day parades in 2013 and 2018 and at annual Air Force Day events. Its later history is less clear. Kazakhstan has had ten L-39Cs upgraded by Aero Vodochody with GenesyS avionics, a head-up display and multi-function displays; Key.Aero reported that aircraft originally delivered back in the bright blue aerobatic scheme were resprayed in a tactical finish and based at the 609th Air Base at Balkhash, which leaves the team’s present status uncertain.