The HAL HJT-16 Kiran () is an Indian two-seat intermediate
jet-powered trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
designed and manufactured by aircraft company
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...
(HAL).
The Kiran was developed at the behest of the
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
(IAF), who sought a new intermediate trainer aircraft for its pilots. On 4 September 1964, the type performed its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
; mass production commenced shortly thereafter. It has been adopted by the IAF, which uses the type to conduct intermediate training of pilots following on from basic trainers such as the
HPT-32 Deepak and
Pilatus PC-7
The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, designed and manufactured in Switzerland by Pilatus Aircraft. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions, including aerobatics, instrument, tactical, and ...
. Furthermore, during the 1980s, the IAF procured a number of Kirans that were furnished with a more powerful engine and a higher number of
hard point
A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on t ...
s; the variant was designated ''Kiran Mk II''. It has also been adopted by the
Indian Naval Air Arm
The Indian Naval Air Arm is the aviation branch and a fighting arm of the Indian Navy which is tasked to provide an aircraft carrier-based strike capability, fleet air defence, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare.
The Flag Of ...
. The last Kiran was completed during 1989, after which the assembly line was shuttered.
The Kiran has been in operational use for over 50 years. Since the late 1990s, an indigenously designed successor, the
HAL HJT-36 Sitara, has been in development, but has yet to enter service as of 2019. By the 2010s, use of the type was gradually declining as increasing numbers of newer
BAE Systems Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...
s, built
under license by HAL, have been introduced to IAF service. The Kiran has been used by the
Indian naval aerobatic team
Sagar Pawan and was also used by the aerobatic team
Surya Kiran
Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in ...
of the IAF up until February 2011, at which point the team was disbanded after its aircraft were diverted to train fighter pilots. The Surya Kiran display team has been reequipped with specially-equipped Hawks. During December 2018, a handful of Kirans were donated by India to
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
.
Development

The Kiran was developed by Indian aircraft manufacturer
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...
(HAL) in response the issuing of an
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
(IAF) requirement that called for a new intermediate jet-powered trainer aircraft. HAL's design team devised a relatively conventional trainer; according to author Chris Smith, their design was closely modelled on the
BAC Jet Provost
The BAC Jet Provost is a British jet trainer aircraft that was in use with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1955 to 1993. It was originally developed by Hunting Percival from the earlier piston engine-powered Percival Provost basic trainer, and l ...
, an existing
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
jet trainer.
[Smith 1994, p. 157.] HAL chose to adopt the British-sourced
Rolls-Royce Viper 11 turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engine, capable of generating up to of thrust, to serve as its powerplant.
According to Smith, the development of what would become Kiran proved beneficial to other HAL projects, the design team being later redeployed to the
HF-24 Marut, an indigenously designed
fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
.
On 4 September 1964, a
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
performed the type's
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
.
[Taylor 1982, p. 92.] The initial production aircraft was designated ''Kiran I''; during March 1968, the first deliveries of the pre-production aircraft were made to the IAF. Proving satisfactory, full-scale production of the type was approved shortly thereafter. Later production aircraft were fitted with
hard point
A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on t ...
s underneath each wing, which were intended for weapon training purposes; this modification led to such aircraft being redesignated as ''Kiran IA''. A total of 190 Mk I and 1A aircraft were manufactured.
During the 1970s, work was undertaken by HAL on an uprated version of the aircraft; it was instead powered by the
Bristol Siddeley Orpheus
The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus is a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Bristol Pegasus ...
turbojet engine, capable of generating a maximum thrust of . This variant, which was also furnished with an enhanced weapon-carrying capability, was designated ''Kiran Mk II''. On 30 July 1976, this variant performed its first flight.
[Taylor 1988, p. 98.] Around this time, India was seeking a more advanced trainer aircraft in response to difficulties experienced with trainee pilots transitioning from the original Kiran to frontline fighter aircraft. Deliveries of the improved model commenced during 1985; production of the Kiran was terminated during 1989.
[Donald and Lake 1996, p. 201.]
Operational history
Since the initial aircraft first being delivered in 1968, the Kiran has been operated by both the IAF and the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
for the intermediate elements of their training syllabuses. Since the late 1990s, HAL has been working on developing a successor to the Kiran, which has been designated
HJT-36 Sitara. Its development has been protracted, being troubled by accidents during the test flight phase and having to perform an extensive redesign. Another jet trainer, the British-designed
BAE Systems Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...
, has been license-manufactured by HAL to supplement and gradually replace the IAF's aging Kiran fleet since 2007. While deliveries of the Hawk and development of the Sitara continues, the operating life of the Kiran has been extended through to 2019, over 50 years after the first examples being delivered to the IAF.

Following the grounding of the
HAL HPT-32 Deepak fleet in 2009 amid safety concerns, the Kiran was temporarily used to perform both Stage I & II of fighter pilot training; this change was accompanied by considerable disruption, including a reduction of available flying hours to students as well as necessitating the redistribution of aircraft from the Surya Kiran display team. During 2010, an urgent
request for proposals was issued, seeking a rapid replacement for the HPT-32 and to enable the Kiran fleet to resume normal operations; the
Pilatus PC-7
The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, designed and manufactured in Switzerland by Pilatus Aircraft. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions, including aerobatics, instrument, tactical, and ...
was subsequently selected for this role.
Both the
Indian Naval Air Arm
The Indian Naval Air Arm is the aviation branch and a fighting arm of the Indian Navy which is tasked to provide an aircraft carrier-based strike capability, fleet air defence, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare.
The Flag Of ...
and the Indian Air Force have independently operated their own aerobatic display teams,
Sagar Pawan and
Surya Kiran
Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in ...
respectively. On 3 March 2010, a Kiran Mk II of the Sagar Pawan aerobatic team crashed into a building in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
during the Indian Aviation 2010 air show, killing both crewmembers and injuring four civilians on the ground. During the 2010s, the Indian Defence Ministry placed an order for 20 Hawk Mk132 aircraft with HAL to replace the remaining Kirans assigned to the Surya Kiran display team. By 2019, several Hawks had been issued to the Surya Kiran display team and had been used to perform its trademark aerial displays.
During December 2018, India donated six Kirans to neighbouring
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, these aircraft were dispatched along with a team of specialists to train both pilots and ground crew in their operation.
"Arms and Military Equipment Suppliers to the Tatmadaw."
''United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
'', August 2019. Publication Times Now has speculated that this gift was an intentional politically-charged decision, intended to strengthen military ties between the two countries as well as to a means to counterbalancing the growing influence of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
over the region.
Variants
;Kiran Mk I
: Two-seat intermediate jet trainer powered by a Rolls-Royce Viper turbo-jet engine. 118 built.[Donald and Lake 1996, p. 200.]
;Kiran Mk IA
: Two-seat intermediate jet trainer with armament capability. Two underwing hardpoint
A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal structural load, load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station o ...
s fitted. 72 built.
;Kiran Mk II
: Improved version with four hardpoints and integral twin 7.62 mm machine guns in nose and a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus
The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus is a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Bristol Pegasus ...
engine. 61 built.
Operators
;
* Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
: 87
* Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
: 20
;
* Myanmar Air Force
The Myanmar Air Force (, ) is the aerial branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception has been to provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanm ...
: 6
Specification (Kiran IA)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
* Smith, Chris. ''India's Ad Hoc Arsenal: Direction Or Drift in Defence Policy?'' Oxford University Press, 1994. .
*
*
External links
{{HAL aircraft
HAL aircraft
1960s Indian military trainer aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1964
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear