Indian Navy showcases its might in the air

Vasco-Da-GAMA - The strength of the Indian Navy was on full display during the induction ceremony of the MiG-29K carrier borne aircraft at the INS Hansa, the Indian Navy’s premier Naval Station here on Friday.

The Indian Navy showcased its firepower in the air during the ceremony. Though the ceremony largely surrounded around the advanced combat aircraft’s performance and its worthiness, the aerial ballet displayed by the Navy’s unmatchable Sagar Pawan aerobatic team won huge appreciation from the delegates present during the ceremony.

Four ‘Kiran’ aircrafts, the indigenous flying machines which are primarily used for training purposes, displayed some spectacular aerial performance.

The ‘Diamond’ formation, during which the four aircrafts were barely four to five meters away from each other, then taking several turns and flip-flops, simply took the breath away of the onlookers.

The gush of various colours released by the aircrafts during their breathtaking performance left a trail of exuberance and pride in the minds of each and every person witnessing the ‘glamorous’ show.

The Sagar Pawan team’s incredible show of coordination was even more noticeable, as the pilots did not have any assistance from ground for the formation in air.

“It is raw flying man!” an officer sitting in the VVIP row remarked.

One Chetak helicopter with the Naval ensign, three Dorniers in VIC formation, one IL-38 SD, which has recently been upgraded in Russia, and the old workhorse ,the Sea Harrier also displayed the things for they are known.

However, the showstopper of the show was the gravity-defying stunt by the star of the show itself, the MiG-29K.

The MiG-29K flew close to ceremony area with an astonishing speed of over 1000 kms and took a sudden vertical turn upwards straight into the clouds. Spontaneous claps from the on lookers, which followed the performance, were hard to hear by amidst the noise produced by the huge turbo charged engines of the mean machines.

The thrill, exuberance and the adrelin rush was easy to locate on the faces of the men who took the MiG-29 K’s to their extreme during the mind-blowing show.

When asked to share the experience, Commander of the newly formed squadron 303 known as the ‘Black Panthers ‘ Commander Theo Phillis said he was actually feeling strange while facing the media persons after flying the combat jet.

“The adrenalin rush is so high that it almost takes the pilot to come to the mother earth. The aircraft (MiG 29K) is very good and smooth to fly. It is a very ‘forgiving’ aircraft,” Commander Phillis said.

When asked to compare the Sea Harrier and the MiG-29K, he termed the Sea Harrier a ‘demanding’ aircraft, which requires a lot of skill to fly.

“Harries is a versatile aircraft that can operate from various places.It does not require a very long runway to take-off or land.But when it comes to pure flying the MiG-29K feels very nice, it will not give you any trouble. It flies very smoothly,” he said.

When asked about the fact that the Indian Navy has the now inducted the MiG-29K’s,but it does not have the carrier (referring to the delayed arrival of Admiral Gorskhov), Commander Phillis said : “The Mig 29K’s can be used from any base, not necessarily the aircraft carrier. Even if the Vikramaditya (Gorskhov) name of has time to come, the Mig-29K’s would be used or various purposes,” he added. By Shashank Shantanu (ANI)