Tejas LCA and IAF’s Sarang and Suryakiran aerobatic teams to participate for the first time at the Dubai Air Show

The IAF’s Suryakiran team flies past in formation as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Vijay Divas to mark the Indian military victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in Mumbai on October 18.

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) Suryakiran aerobatic team and Tejas, India’s indigenously designed and manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), have landed in Dubai to showcase their aerial manoeuvres for the first time at the prestigious Dubai Air Show. The biennial Dubai Air Show is scheduled to be held at the Al Maktoum International Airport from November 14 to 18.

The IAF, which has been invited by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the air show, will also be showcasing their Sarang helicopter aerobatics and display team. The Sarang team will fly the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL’s) Dhruv, the indigenously designed and manufactured Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The Sarang team had previously participated in the Al Ain Aerobatic Show in the UAE in 2005. The Suryakiran team will use Hawk 132, the British Aerospace-designed and HAL-assembled aircraft.

The IAF’s aerobatics teams will be performing along with some of the best aerobatics and display teams in the world, including Saudi Hawks, Russian Knights and the UAE’s Al Fursan. The Tejas LCA will be a part of both the aerobatics and static displays during the five-day air show.

An IAF spokesperson said its contingent, consisting of five Dhruv helicopters, 10 Hawk132 aircraft and three Tejas aircraft, completed its induction at Dubai on November 9. The spokesperson added that the induction was supported by the IAF’s C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.

On arrival, the IAF contingent was received by Major General Staff Pilot Ishaq Saleh Mohammed al-Balushi of the UAE Armed Forces and other officers of the UAE Air Force.