IAF's Tejas Lights Up Skies With 14 Aircraft Formation, First Such Formation Flight For Local Fighter

The Indian Air Force on Friday (!4 October) released pictures of 14 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas fighter aircraft flying in formation over the skies of Sulur Air Force Station.

While the Tejas has participated in various air shows and displays in the last few years, friday's display marks the first such deployment of over a dozen aircraft of this type.

It is not clear if the formation flying was meant to accomplish any training goals or if it was just a public relations exercise. Nevertheless the air force has been publishing a slew of very professionally shot, attractive images of various aircraft in its inventory in the recent months. While publishing pictures was a regular event the quality and enthusiasim shown by the air force elicited a lot of compliments in social media circles.

Livefist, a noted defence reporting portal had this to say:

"In the last few weeks, the IAF’s social media handles have positively exploded with perhaps the first high quality images of frontline aircraft in years. The IAF’s otherwise somewhat staid social media handles have been replete with a stream of mid-air photographs of air assets, the likes of which we’ve definitely never seen before."

The IAF will eventually induct over 100 Tejas aircrafts in the coming years. 83 Tejas aircraft were ordered from HAL in a Rs 48,000 contract signed earlier this year. An earlier order for 40 aircraft is being fulfilled by HAL.