Bidar Air Force Station | |||||||||
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| Part of Bidar | |||||||||
| Bidar, Karnataka Near Chidri area of Bidar city in India | |||||||||
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  Bidar Air Force Station Location in India | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°54′N 77°28′E / 17.9°N 77.47°E | ||||||||
| Type | Indian Air Force Station | ||||||||
| Code | VOBR | ||||||||
| Height | 2,178 feet (664 m) | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | Indian Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Training Command | ||||||||
| Open to the public | No | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1943-47 | ||||||||
| Built by | |||||||||
| In use | Training Command Center | ||||||||
| Fate | In 2011, the station was remodeled and refurbished, with the runway extended to 9000 feet and new facilities for aircraft engine maintenance and testing added | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | Abhijeet Nene | ||||||||
| Past commanders | Air Chief Marshal PV Naik | ||||||||
| Garrison | No. 52 Squadron IAF | ||||||||
| Occupants | No. 52 Squadron IAF | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: IXX, ICAO: VOBR | ||||||||
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Bidar Air Force Station, (Kannada: ಬೀದರ್ ಏರ್ ಫೋರ್ಸ್ ಸ್ಟೇಷನ್) (Hindi: बीदर वायु सेना स्टेशन), is a flight training establishment of the Indian Air Force. It was founded during World War II and has been a training center for Indian Air Force pilots since 1963. Trainer aircraft like the HAL HT-2 and variants of HAL HJT-16 Kiran have been used at the airbase for nearly four decades.[1] In 2011, the station was remodeled and refurbished, with the runway extended to 9000 feet and new facilities for aircraft engine maintenance and testing added.[2]
Bidar Air Force Station is home to the second biggest training center in India, providing further training to graduates of the Indian Air Force Academy before they are assigned to combat units.[2] 60-90 sorties per day are flown from the base, generating the highest number of single-engine flying hours in India.
Once the home base for the air force's No. 52 Squadron, the station now houses the three Hawk Operational Training Squadrons (HOTS-A Aggressors, HOTS-B Bravehearts, and HOTS-C Cheetahs). A fourth squadron is ready to be raised shortly.[3] The Weapon System Operators' School also functions here.
Bidar is located in Karnataka, India. Its location on the Deccan Plateau provides protection from the tropical conditions that are experienced on the coast and favorable year-round flying conditions, allowing even non-instrument rated trainees to fly for most of the year.[2]
AFS Bidar is instrumental in providing pilot training for fighter jets, with the base offering stage-III training in Advanced Jet Training (AJT).[4] The operational and fighter trainer roles of this Advanced Jet Trainer have been successfully demonstrated by prominent air powers worldwide.[5]
The pilots undergo 52 weeks of flight training conducted in four stages and graduate in the Pilots Course and Weapons Systems Operators Course (WSOC) on the Hawk Mk 132 fighter aircraft.[6]
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Main article: HAL Kiran |
In July 2012, the final Kiran Mk II aircraft flew out of Bidar to the Tambaram Air Force Station. This aircraft had been in service at Bidar for almost three decades.[3]
Flying training at Bidar is now done on the Hawk Mk 132 aircraft. The Hawk brings a 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 an 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 at Bidar.[3]
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Main article: Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team |
The Indian air force's Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) flew its first six aircraft formation sortie on May 27, 1996 from the Bidar Air Force Station. Unlike other aerobatic teams, which fly either frontline fighter aircraft or advanced jet trainers, SKAT flies the Kiran MK II indigenous basic jet trainer. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2017.[3]
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 Thunderbolts, which used Hawker Hunter fighters. The SKAT was born in 1996 and developed over time. It was conferred with Squadron status in 2006.
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.[7]
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.[8][circular reference][9]
Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 2015 has identified an over-provision of hangars in the airbase, leading to an unnecessary expenditure of 24.28 crore due to an inaccurate projection of requirements. During the planning of constructing a new Hangar (Number 6) at AFS Bidar, the CAG found the excess capacity assumed for the work services.[17]
In the previous year — 2014, CAG pointed out that the resurfacing of extended portion of runways (numbered 02/20 and 08/26) was planned arbitrarily and it was carried out without the approval of Ministry of Defence. The report showed "injudicious expenditure" amounting to 1.48 crore at the airbase.[18]
