How Suryakiran Became Asia's Only Nine-Aircraft Aerobatic Team In 30 Years

For three decades, IAF's Suryakiran Aerobatic Team has thrilled millions with breathtaking air shows, colourful smoke trails and precise flying skills. Formed in 1996, the team has become one of India’s most recognised aviation symbols. From local air displays to major international shows, Suryakiran has represented India with pride and precision.

New Delhi: When nine red-and-white jets streak across the sky in impossibly tight formation, trailing the tricolour in smoke, something stirs deep within every spectator below. That is the magic of the Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) and on May 26, the Indian Air Force’s most celebrated ambassadors mark 30 extraordinary years of flight.

The history of Suryakiran

The story began quietly at Air Force Station Bidar on May 27, 1996, when a new aerobatic team was formally raised and christened “Suryakiran” meaning ‘Rays of the Sun’.

Flying the indigenously built Kiran Mk-II trainer aircraft, the team made its public debut just months later in September 1996 at Coimbatore, thrilling audiences with synchronised precision that few had seen before. It was the beginning of something spectacular.

Taking the flight on the world stage

Over the next decade, Suryakiran grew steadily in ambition and ability. In 2001, the team made its long-awaited foreign debut, taking the skies over Colombo, Sri Lanka. That first international outing opened the floodgates.

The team went on to perform in the UAE, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and China, earning widespread admiration from aviation enthusiasts worldwide.

A particularly memorable chapter was written at the Dubai Air Show, where Suryakiran performed alongside some of the finest aerobatic teams on the planet, including the Saudi Hawks, Russia's Knights, and the UAE's Al Fursan.

A Nation transfixed

Back home, the team’s reach has been equally breathtaking. One of the most memorable domestic displays was an aerial show over Chennai that drew an estimated 1.7 million spectators along the coastline.

More recently, the team dazzled crowds at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh, performing Tejas and Yuva formations, barrel rolls, DNA and Loop manoeuvres, with tricolour smoke trails painting the skyline.

The Hawk takes over

A major evolution came in 2015, when the team transitioned from the aging Kiran to the modern Hawk Mk-132, licence-manufactured by the state-owned plane maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), flying in extremely close proximity at a distance of less than five metres.

This makes Suryakiran the only nine-aircraft aerobatic team in Asia, a distinction that fills every Indian with quiet pride.

As SKAT celebrates three decades aloft, its motto – “Sadaiva Sarvottam”, “Always the Best” – rings truer than ever. The Rays of the Sun have never shone brighter.