Suryakiran-Sarang jugalbandi at underwhelming Aero India full dress rehearsal

Underwhelming in its aerial spread, the 13th international aerospace exposition Aero India 2021 had its Full Dress Rehearsal (FDR) at Bengaluru’s Yelahanka Air Base on Tuesday, the absence of foreign aircraft clearly showing. But the first-ever Suryakiran-Sarang jugalbandi did try to compensate.

None of the big foreign flying regulars were part of the display fleet, static or aerial. A lone Ukrainian business jet stood out on the tarmac as if to remind everyone of the stately range that defined the previous shows. But the crowd of mostly Indian Air Force (IAF) men and their families did not seem to mind.