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Bidar Air Force Station is a flight training establishment of the Indian Air Force. It was established during World War II and has been a training center for budding pilots of the IAF since 1963. Trainer aircraft like the HT2 and various variants of Kiran aircraft have been used at the airbase for nearly four decades.[1] In 2011, the station was remodeled and refurbished, with the runway being extended to 9000 feet and the construction of new facilities for aircraft engine maintenance and testing.[2]

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Bidar Air Force Station
Disbanded	52 Squadron (The Sharks) aka Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team on 30 June 2011
Country	India
Branch	Indian Air Force
Type	Flying Training Establishment for IAF Soldiers
Role	Intermediate Jet Fighter Training (Kiran) and Advanced Jet Fighter Training (Hawk) - Flying, Ground and Technical
Part of	Training Command
Garrison/HQ	AF Stn Bidar
Colors	Navy blue, sky blue & white
Equipment	Fighter Aircraft
Aircraft flown
Trainer	Hawk Mk 132 since November 2007, Kiran MkII till July 2012

Bidar Air Force Station is home to the second biggest training center in India, providing further training to Indian Air Force Academy graduates before they are assigned to a combat unit.[2] Around 60-90 sorties per day are flown from the base, thereby generating the highest number of single-engine flying hours in India from this air base.

Once the home base for 52nd Squadron, the station now houses the three Hawk Operational Training Squadrons (HOTS-A Aggressors, HOTS-B Bravehearts, and HOTS-C Cheetahs). In addition, the Weapon System Operators' School also functions here. A fourth squadron is ready to be raised shortly.[3] 66 Hawk aircraft are to be added to the Air Force Station Bidar in a phased manner.

Location

Bidar is located in Karnataka, India. Being located on the Deccan Plateau, it provides protection from the tropical conditions that are experienced on the coast. Flying conditions are favorable year round and the climate is relatively mild – except from mid-March to mid-May – meaning that trainees who are not instrument rated are still able to fly at most times of year.[2]

Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team

The Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) flew its first six aircraft formation sortie on May 27, 1996, at AFS Bidar. Unlike most teams, which fly either frontline fighter aircraft or advanced jet trainers, SKAT flies an indigenous basic jet trainer, the Kiran MK II. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2017.[4]^{[circular reference]}

Overview

The Station was also the home of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team. The team was a true ambassador of IAF. However, after their dazzling display during Aero India 2011, to meet its increasing training requirements, the IAF took the decision to disband the team on June 30, 2011.[3]

History

The Formation Aerobatic Team has been associated with Bidar AFS since 1990 with the arrival of a four-aircraft team called the Formation Aerobatic Team from Thunderbolt, which were set up on Kiran trainers. The SKAT was born in 1996 and developed over time. It was conferred with Squadron status in 2006.

Training

Pilots serving as Qualified Flying Instructors (QFIs) with approximately 1,000 hours of experience on fighter aircraft can volunteer to be a part of the SKAT. Volunteers are invited to fly with the team, where their performance and personality traits are evaluated. Over a period of approximately 6 months, selected pilots then fly 70–75 sorties practising various manoeuvres before they are admitted to the formation flying team.

The average tenure of a SKAT pilot is about three years. Two new pilots join the team every six months. Starting at high altitude with a single aircraft sortie, with the team leader or the deputy team leader in the Kiran's left-hand seat, the trainee moves on to two-aircraft and then three-aircraft formation flying. After mastering the skill of flying with two aircraft on either side, the trainee then goes in for four-aircraft and six-aircraft sorties before finally graduating to nine-aircraft sorties. All types of rolls, loops, dives, and formations are flown at various training stages.[5]

Composition

The team is led by a commanding officer who is also the leader of the formation during display sorties. The squad has 13 pilots, out of whom nine perform at any given time. Since their inception in 1996, these display aircraft have enthralled audiences with their maneuvers. Senior and experienced fighter pilots are chosen to be part of the prestigious SKAT, which uses the IAF's basic HJT-16 Kiran Mk-2 trainer aircraft. It has now used the Hawk Mk-132 aircraft since 2017.[4]^{[circular reference]}[6]

Formations and Maneuvers

• The most popular and also the most dangerous formation of the SKAT has been of the nine aircraft taking off in a V-shaped formation of three and joining up in close formation, maneuvering between speeds of 150 and 650 km per hour with their wing tips five metres apart.[7]
• Six Kiran trainer jets streak barely 50 metres above the ground in an arrowhead formation. With their wingtips separated by five metres, they move into a diamond formation and roll towards their left to form a "card" formation with three aircraft flying abreast and another three trailing just behind.
• Reforming again after "synchro head-on cross", where two aircraft on the same level cross each other at a relative speed of 1100 km/h with a separation of just five metres, the brightly painted red and white aircraft, with their exhausts trailing smoke, dive vertically and then pull up again in different directions to simulate a bomb burst.

Kiran Mk II

In July 2012, the final Kiran Mk II aircraft flew out of Bidar to Tambaram. This aircraft was in Bidar for almost three decades.[3]

Hawk Mk 132

Overview

Flying training at AFS Bidar is now done on the Hawk Mk 132 aircraft. The Hawk brings a huge step-up in capability as a training aircraft, bridging the gap between the basic piston-engined trainer and the high-performance flying of an advanced fighter aircraft. It is aerodynamically much more forgiving and is a great introduction for trainee pilots to familiarise on before they go into fighters.[2]

The stage-III training, ahead of the pilots graduating to the supersonic jets such as MiG-21s, Jaguars, Mirages and Sukhoi SU-30MKIs is carried out as the Station is the mother base for Hawk Mk 132 aircraft. Modern servicing facilities have been created which bench-mark the maintenance philosophy of IAF. The average airman earlier worked with basic tools for servicing the aircraft. He has now become tech savvy in tune with the requirements of modern aircraft.[3]

The Hawk Mk 132 is a variant of the highly successful BAE Systems. It incorporates an open architecture mission computer, glass cockpit and a state-of-the-art avionics suite including a new generation Inertial Navigation System with GPS (INGPS). It is also equipped with several Indian made components such as the communication sets, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system and the radio altimeter. In addition to being an advanced jet trainer, Hawk Mk 132 is fully combat capable and can carry air to air missile and air to ground armament. It could also be used as a lightweight fighter.[8] Hawk can also be flown at night and perform a wide range of aerobatic maneuvers.

History

The need for an AJT was first articulated by the IAF in 1982 and ever since has remained high on the IAF's agenda for procurement. The IAF felt that there existed a quantum difference in the skill and judgement levels required of a young fighter pilot as he transited to state-of-the-art fighters such as the Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000, and MiG-29. The Hawk 132 would adequately serve as a lead trainer for these advanced aircraft.[8]

Two Hawk Mk 132 advanced jet trainer (AJT) aircraft that departed BAE Systems' Warton airfield in the UK on 8 November 2007, reached Air Force Station Bidar on 12 November 2007. The Hawk pair, flown by a mixed crew of BAE Systems and IAF pilots, Wing Commander Pankaj Jain and Squadron Leader Tarun Hindwani, first landed in India at the Jamnagar airbase while ferrying from Muscat, their previous stopover, on their way to Bidar. The AJT pair was escorted into Bidar airspace by the Suryakirans, streaming national colours. Air Marshal GS Chaudhry, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, and Air Commodore Ramesh Rai, AOC, AFS Bidar, oversaw the first arrival of the aircraft. This heralded yet another saga towards meeting the training requirements of the IAF pilots.[9]

Of the 66 aircraft being purchased, 24 were developed, built and supplied by BAE Systems, UK; while Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru is to manufacture the remaining 42 aircraft under licence in India.[9]

Bidar airfield, located in the North West of Karnataka, approximately 150 km from Hyderabad, was chosen as the main operating base for the Hawk. This base has been a training establishment for budding fighter pilots of the IAF since 1963. To ensure the smooth induction of the Hawk, the Air Warriors under the command of Air Commodore Ramesh Rai have worked tirelessly to put the required infrastructure in place. They were, at all stages, assisted by the local civil authorities and population. The work services included extension of the two runways, improvement in landing facilities and creation of servicing facilities for the technology intensive Hawk aircraft.[8]

Training

The Bidar base has a classroom and a fully computer-aided learning system for the instruction of pilots and maintenance personnel.[2]

Significance

The induction of Hawk aircraft into the IAF has not only brought a modern trainer into the IAF, but an entire Hawk culture. This culture focuses on honesty, discipline in the air and ground, and steadfast adherence to SOPs. The modern training philosophy is in tune with the IAF watchword "People First, Mission Always". At the end of the one-year training, the station produces a fine fighter pilot, a humane gentleman, and an honest officer. For its excellence in all spheres, especially in the training of pilots, the station was adjudged as the Best Flying Training Establishment in 2011 and 2014. The Station is also the proud winner of many other trophies for excellence in various other activities.

The Station and the Air Force are looking forward to the formation of a new aerobatic team with Hawk Mk 132 aircraft. Efforts for this are in progress at Air HQ. Before the team is formed, the station aims to improve its infrastructure to train many more IAF and Indian Navy pilots. The Station also aims to provide the best professionals to the Operational Squadrons. This will establish the Hawk culture of dedication, discipline, and honesty in its truest sense all over the Air Force.

Accidents

• On March 18, 2006, Wing Commander Dheeraj Bhatia and Squadron Leader Shailendra Singh died while flying the Kiran aircraft. This was the first-ever crash involving a Surya Kiran team. It seems neither man nor machine was at fault. Aerobatics is a risky business. The reaction time is a fraction of a second. In all probability, therefore, it was an accident. This was how senior IAF officials described the crash.[10] However, later, the cause of the accident was established as human error (by the aircrew). A continuous and multi-faceted effort is always underway in the IAF to enhance and upgrade flight safety.[11]
• A Kiran aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Air Force Station, Bidar on January 21, 2009, killing Wing Commander Daliwal.[12] The incident occurred during a routine practise session by the IAF's aerobatics team. This was the second fatal Surya Kiran air mishap.[13]

Distinguished Officers

• Flight Lieutenant Rajika Sharma of the Station was the first woman officer to scale the mighty Mount Everest. She was a MET officer posted to the station when she achieved this distinction.[3]
• Air Marshal Ramesh Rai has commanded the Air Force Station, Bidar and the Advance HQ at Kolkata. The HAWK advanced jet trainers (AJT) were inducted during his tenure at Air Force Station Bidar, wherein he pioneered the training system for the AJT. He served as the Chief of Central Air Command before taking over as AOC-in-C, Training Command.[14]
• Air Marshal Paramjit Singh Gill AVSM VM, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of WAC, was Chief Instructor (CI) at Air Force Stn Bidar.[15]
• Air Marshal VR Iyer, Air Officer in Charge of Personnel at Air HQ, being a qualified flying instructor, has imparted training at Air Force Station Bidar.[16]
• The AFS Bidar was commanded by Air Chief Marshal PV Naik VSM ADC.[17]

Galleries

• 
  Hawk flying over AFS Bidar
• 
  Indian Air Force BAE Systems Hawk 132 Lofting-1

References

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