Somnath Amrut Mahotsav: IAF's renowned Surya Kiran team to perform air show

The Indian Air Force's renowned Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) will present an air show over the Somnath Temple on May 11 as part of the 'Somnath Amrut Mahotsav-2026' celebrations marking 75 years of the temple's reconstruction, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said on Sunday. During rehearsal sorties conducted over the temple on Sunday morning, spectators gathered in large numbers and cheered the pilots as they executed precision formations and close-range flying displays in the skies above the temple town, an official release said. A major attraction of this year's display would be indigenous smoke pods developed by the Air Force's Base Repair Depot in Nashik, which will release saffron, white and green smoke to create the image of the Indian tricolour in the sky, it said. Moreover, an Indian Air Force Chetak helicopter will also shower flower petals over the Somnath temple as part of the celebrations. ''The aerobatic display will feature synchronized formations and daring aerial manoeuvres by pilots flying red-and-white Hawk Mk-132 aircraft. The 15-minute show would demonstrate the pilots' expertise in flying fighter aircraft at extremely close distances from one another,'' the release quoted Wing Commander Janmeet Sharma as saying. The aircraft will take off from the Jamnagar Air Force Station and reach Somnath within 18 minutes, covering an aerial distance of around 182 kilometres, officials said. The team, led by Group Captain Ajay Dasharathi, comprises 13 pilots, while 25 to 30 Air Force personnel from the Jamnagar station will manage operational responsibilities including flypast control, aviation safety, bird hazard management, weather coordination and signal communication, the release said. The Surya Kiran team, which was established in 1996, has conducted over 800 air displays across India and has represented the Indian Air Force in countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, the release noted. ''The helicopter unit, which also undertakes search and rescue, medical evacuation and disaster relief operations, had already carried out rehearsal flights over the temple during the past two days. The same unit had earlier conducted a flower shower over the Statue of Unity on National Unity Day,'' an official said. Somnath Amrut Mahotsav ceremony will mark 75 years since the inauguration of the restored temple by then President of India Rajendra Prasad. PM Modi will conduct a roadshow from the helipad in Somnath to the statue of Veer Hamirji Gohil. He will also perform 'abhishek', 'dhwaj pooja' and 'maha pooja' at the temple. The PM will later address a public gathering at Sadbhavana Ground.

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