SKYCALL:Aero india 2013 begins in Banglaore

The ninth edition of India's premier airshow, Aero India 2013, is likely to be a lukewarm affair despite being expected to be the biggest so far. The star attraction this time is the five-aircraft formation of Russian Air Force's Russian Sukhoi Su-27 UB fighters that will be seen in India.

The Suryakiran aerobatics team was disbanded after its Kiran Mk-11 jets were re-routed to train rookie IAF pilots; which means Red Knight would stand out. Delegates as well as general visitors are waiting to see the Russian Knights in action.

But sources said Russian Knights are held up due to bad weather at Chelyabinsk (south-east of Moscow) before reaching Delhi from where the team was to land on Tuesday at Air Force Station Yelahanka (AFSY), the venue of the five-day air show.

VIEW PICS FROM THE AIR SHOW: Aero India 2013: Awesome aircraft soar at Asia's biggest airshow

Until late Tuesday night, the Russian Knights had not landed at AFSY, and aviation experts say that if they landed early on Wednesday morning, even a little acclimatisation could mean ruling out the Russian Knights from the inaugural session's displays.

The Russian Knights had last given a spectacular performance in Zhuhai city in south China’s Guangdong province as part of Airshow China 2012 on November 12.

Also, of the star attractions of Aero India 2011 which contended for the $10 billion deal — Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon, Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab-Grippen's J-139 and the Russian Mig-35 — four will be conspicuous by their absence. These aircraft were eliminated by the Indian defence ministry in preference for French Dassault's Rafale, which has been selected for meeting Indian Air Force's requirement of 126 Medium weight Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCAs) to boost the force's strength. Rafale and F-16s will be present at Aero India 2013.

The intense competition last time round saw celebrities being wooed by the MMRCA contenders to convince the buyers about the dependability of the aircraft, and that cause a lot of excitement among the Indian viewers.

However, there might be some excitement at the business level. Air chief NAK Browne's January visit with a small but high-level IAF delegation to Israel may pay rich dividends about further military cooperation between the air forces of the two countries. The USA is also trying to sell India its P-8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the Boeing stable, which will be on display at the show.

However, Aero India 2013 is likely to be a great place to be for Bangaloreans at air display viewing area and the static display area on Saturday and Sunday.