Overview
- The Suryakiran team staged its maiden Meerut show on Saturday, September 19, taking off from Hindon Air Base and arriving in Meerut around 10:25 a.m. to begin the display.
- Nine Hawk Mk‑132 jets flew coordinated low‑altitude formations and aerobatic manoeuvres including loops, barrel rolls, inverted flight and the DNA manoeuvre while leaving saffron, white and green smoke trails.
- The coloured smoke was produced by pods developed at the IAF Base Repair Depot in Nashik and the nine‑ship formation is drawn from the 13 pilots of the IAF’s 52 Squadron who train for these displays.
- Organisers said roughly 50,000 people watched the two‑day event that concluded on September 20 and officials used the occasion to promote national service and to highlight rising domestic defence production.
- Authorities imposed a temporary red no‑flying zone within a 10‑nautical‑mile radius of Mohiuddinpur and banned drones until September 21, measures that required traffic and crowd controls and caused local congestion.