From the Thunderbolts to Surya Kiran

Indian Air Force display flying had a precedent in the Thunderbolts, a nine-ship Hawker Hunter team formed within No. 20 Squadron for the IAF’s golden jubilee in 1982. It flew until 1989. Surya Kiran, “Rays of the Sun”, was formed on 27 May 1996 at Bidar in Karnataka, on the eve of the first Aero India show. Its first leader, Wing Commander Kuldeep Malik, had flown with the Thunderbolts. The team began with four HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.II trainers, grew to six by May 1996, and gave its first public display at the Air Force Administrative College in Coimbatore on 15 September 1996.

Nine Kirans and a squadron of its own

In August 1998, under Wing Commander A. K. Murgai, the team flew nine aircraft in public for the first time, over the Independence Day celebrations in Delhi. Its first display abroad was for the Sri Lankan Air Force’s 50th anniversary in March 2001. On 8 October 2004 it became the first IAF unit to receive the Chief of Air Staff Unit Citation, and on 1 May 2006 it became a squadron in its own right, No. 52 Squadron, ‘the Sharks’. Tours followed to Singapore in 2004, to Malaysia and Thailand in 2007, and to Zhuhai in China and to Laos in 2008.

Grounded for want of trainers

The Kiran was also the IAF’s basic jet trainer, and by 2011 the air force was short of them for pilot training. After Aero India in February 2011 the team was stood down and its aircraft returned to the training role. It stayed off the display circuit for four years. In that time the IAF settled on a replacement: the BAE Hawk Mk.132, already in IAF service as an advanced jet trainer and licence-built by HAL. In October 2015 the IAF agreed to buy twenty Hawks fitted with smoke systems for the team.

The Hawk era

Surya Kiran re-formed on 15 February 2015 under Wing Commander Ajit Kulkarni. The Hawks wear day-glo orange and white, and their inboard drop tanks are modified to carry dye mixed with diesel for coloured smoke. The team keeps 13 pilots on strength, nine flying at any time, and pilots serve three years. It flies about 30 shows a year and passed 500 displays across more than 72 Indian cities. In March 2021 it returned to Sri Lanka for that air force’s 70th anniversary, and on 19 November 2023 it flew over the Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

Losses at Bidar and Yelahanka

Four aircrew have been killed in three accidents. On 18 March 2006 a Kiran crashed near Bidar during practice, killing Wing Commander Dheeraj Bhatia and Squadron Leader Shailender Singh. On 21 January 2009 Wing Commander R. S. Dhaliwal was killed when his Kiran crashed during practice near Bellura in Karnataka. On 19 February 2019 two Hawks collided near Yelahanka while rehearsing for Aero India. Wing Commander V. T. Shelke and Squadron Leader T. J. Singh ejected, and Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi was fatally injured. A Kiran also crash-landed at Bhubaneswar in December 2007 without loss of life.