SURYAKIRAN AEROBATIC TEAM (SKAT)

About:

• This will be the first performance for the SKAT team outside India since it was resurrected in 2015 with the Hawk advanced jet trainers.
  
  
• Earlier, the SKAT team had toured Sri Lanka during the 50th anniversary of the SLAF in 2001.
  
  
• The SKAT team, also known as 52 Squadron or The Sharks, is based in Bidar.
  
  
• The team was formed in 1996 with Kiran Mk-II aircraft and had enthralled spectators across the country till 2011. It was revived in 2015 with Hawk trainers initially with four aircraft and grew to the nine-aircraft formation.
  
  
• Since its inception, the SKAT team has carried out over 600 displays all around the country. It has also represented India across southeast Asia including China.