SURYA KIRAN..."Sadaiva Sarvottama"(Always the best)

1982, the Golden Jubilee of the
Indian Air force saw the inception of nine Hunter aircraft performing feats in the air. The team flew Hawker Hunter aircraft (Also flown by 'The Black Arrows' of the Royal Air Force).Led by Wg Cdr PS Brar, they called themselves the ‘Thunderbolts’ and were painted deep blue with streaks of lightning passing all through.

The Hunters were eventually phased out and the indigenously manufactured Kiran MK Iis were tasked to stay in formation.Wg Cdr AR Nigam led the new team in 1990.In 1966 the team was christened ‘SURYAKIRAN’ and upgraded to a 6ac status under the command of Wg Cdr K Malik. 1997 saw late Wg Cdr Anil Murgai leading nine Kirank Mk Iis in formation and soon after, Wg Cdr A Tiwari included a two ac synchronised medley to complete the show to what it is today. Evolution does not stop here and new profiles with add-one are tried out frequently.

There are 33 aerobatic teams in the world, but only four countries have a nine-aircraft display. We are one of them. We are also much admired across the world. The nine aircraft take off in VICs of three and join up in close formation, manoeuvering between speeds of 150 and 650 Kmph with their wing tips a mere 5 metres apart. The various profiles undertaken are a series of dynamic combinations resulting in constantly changing formations. This subjects the pilots to alternating ‘g’ forces between +6 to –1.5. perfection comes only with practice.

The team has a total of 13 pilots of whom only 9 are flying at any given time. Pilots are selected twice a year for a three-year tour of duty. Only Fighter aircraft pilots are selected. All pilots in the team are Qualified flying instructors (QFI's) with around 2000hrs of fighter flying experience and 1000 hrs on the Kiran aircraft.

One of the most popular maneuvers is the "heart-in-the-sky" routine, where two aircraft cross each other and create a vertical heart while the third streaks across, drawing an arrow across the heart. This maneuver debuted in Aero India-2003, and was added as a Valentine's Day special. Due to its popularity, the team has continued to perform this manoeuvre.

With the ageing of Kiran aircraft, the HJT-36 Sitara aircraft has been developed as a replacement. The aircraft first flew in 2003, and is planned to be inducted into service by 2009. The first orders for the aircraft by the Indian Air force was for 16 HJT-36 that will replace the HJT-16s of the Surya Kiran team.

F-22 ( codenamed "THE RAPTOR" )

This time i am introducing u to a technical masterpiece, surpassing any machine in the air. During the late 80’s Americans desperately needed an air superiority fighter .The Cold war was at its peak and to counter the threat posed by Soviet Sukhoi aircrafts, United States Air Force issued tenders to the famed Lokheed Martin and Boeing companies for developing an ’air superiority fighter’ aircraft .The work began intensively in 1990 and after some time the companies came with F-22 combat aircraft.
The maiden flight was performed in 1997. It was nicknamed the “RAPTOR” .This fighter is a 5th gen. Aircraft ,with cutting edge technologies.The raptor is an aircraft with all latest technologies. To begin with -
1.This aircraft uses stealth technology which saves it from detection by enemy radars.
2.It’s primarily an air superiority fighter but still can perform the role of ground attack, signal intelligence and electronics warfare.
3.With its amazing twin powerplant it can cruise up to the speed of mach 2.2.
4.It’s avionics is quite advanced which includes AESA (actively electronically scanned radar) that can track a multiple targets at a time.
5.The softwre of 'raptor' is well designed consisting of around 1.7 million code lines.most of the software is concerned about processin the data from its complex radar.
6.One of the most attractive feature is its threat detction ability. It can work as a mini AWACS(airborne warning and control system) ,helping it to identify its friend and foes damn easily.
This aircraft right now can be crowned with the most “lethal combat aircraft” in air.The USAF has around 200 of these jets in its inventory.



No airforce in currently uses it because of its high cost.Thats why Americans have come up with F-35 which is the cheaper variant of
RAPTOR. This jet is truly a technical achievement.

Mig-35: Czar Of The Skies

Ever since the esteemed Mikoyan Bureau of Russia started the production of migs, they were one of the most fearsome combat aircrafts of all times. Production started from MIG-15.This aircraft earned itself a name of “sabre-killer” during the Korean war in 60s.

The Mikoyan then came with mig-21, mig-23, mig-25, mig-27, mig29,-31 and mig-35.each one of these aircrafts proved themselves superior to the their Americans counterparts for the role they were built for.

Now the most sophisticated mig in the air is mig-35.lets see it’s main technical features:

1. It’s a 4.5 or 4++ generation combat aircraft with avionics of 5^th generation.

2. It has an advanced airborne integrated air defence system, which makes it better for an air superiority combat aircraft.3. It has highly advanced opto-electronic radar, giving it a cutting edge for recon missions.

4. It has a 3 channel fly by wire control system, a technology possessed only by France till now.

The most impressive feature is the radar of this aircraft. It has AESA radar, which was developed with the help of an Italian company.

Ø Now what is AESA radar?

It is active electronically scanned array radar which gives the aircraft an upper hand for detection of its enemy at a distance of 250km or more. It is first Russian jet with this ability.

Ø Now coming to its powerplant.It has twin Rd-33MK engineswhich give it a force of around 9000kgf. Also it has vectored thrust nozzles which give it a good efficiency. This gives it a speed of mach 2.4.

Now for its own defence it has a range of features. The mig-35 has an optronic suite which gives it range of features.

Once airborne this aircraft is a perfect killing machine.