Winning ways come easily to the young ‘Rhinos’ of No. 30 Squadron. It was not just friends they were winning over from air arms around the world at the ‘Royal International Air Tattoo’ (RIAT), held over the weekend at Fairford. They also won the challenging – BAE Systems “The Graviner Spirit of the Meet Trophy”. Wing Commander AK Bharti, Commanding Officer of the Squadron received the trophy at a special gala dinner hosted at RIAT. It was presented by Mr. Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director, Military Air Solutions, BAE Systems. The glittering trophy comes close on the heels of the ‘best static display’ award, won by the IAF contingent at the ‘Waddington International Air Show’, held a fortnight earlier in UK.

The youthful quartet of Squadron Leader PK Garg (Team Leader) and Flight Lieutenants, S Mishra, M Gera and R Panwar, Su-30 MKI pilots all from the Pune-based, No. 30 Squadron, were winners of the trophy awarded to the crew making the most outstanding contribution to the success of ‘The Meet’, states their citation emblazoned on the silver trophy.

Squadron Leader Garg explained that the daylong competition comprised 12 groups with four members each, who had to participate in a series of challenging physical competitions such as an obstacle course, group tasks, walk-in-the-water, shooting competition, first-aid treatment and aircraft recognition. “Apart from our peak fitness levels and competitive spirit, perhaps what really appealed to all others and the organizers was our camaraderie with all participants, who found the spirit of us Indians very nice and endearing,” said Garg. “We made good friends with the French Air Force team who are thoroughly impressed with our IAF. They are aware of our other joint operations with USAF and their very own. We are very friendly and highly professional, they say” – he stated after having competed at the meet with aircrews from France, RAF, Jordan, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Netherland, Belgium, Italy to name a few.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, displayed an IL-78 MKI and two Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters at the ‘static display’. A single Su-30 MKI flown by Wing Commander H Assudani and Squadron Leader SK Sharma briefly, kept the shutterbugs asking for more. In more ways than one, the continued presence of the IAF at two major military air shows in a row in Europe couldn’t have been timed any better, as the IAF is at the threshold of reaching yet another historic milestone this year on October 8.

Coming close on the heels of IAF’s maiden participation at the Waddington International Air Show in which the IAF display was adjudged the best ‘static display’, the trio of IL-78 MKI flanked by two formidable Su-30 MKIs simply took off from where it left at Waddington, and continued to draw huge fans at their spot.

Significantly, a single Hawk aircraft, complete with IAF markings and tricolour roundel, that are set to arrive in India later in September this year, also made a silent static debut at the RIAT. A prize for guessing the right answer as to which Air Force the aircraft belonged, entitled winners to get a RIAT aircraft checklist.