Russian aerobatic pilots treated the audience to an excellent display program at the Al-Ain 2005 air show in the United Arab Emirates.
The Al-Ain Aerobatics Show and the World Grand Prix 2005 aerobatic contest were organized under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Halifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE President, and His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
The chief organizers of the air show were the Al-Ain Economic Development and Tourism Promotion Committee and the Atlas Aerospace Company, which presented the Russian Air Force's Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams in the UAE.
The Russian Knights and Swifts are part of the 237th Red Banner Proskurov Guards Aircraft Display Centre awarded Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Orders and named after the Air Force Marshal Ivan Kozhedub.
The Russian Knights aerobatic team was formed on April 5,1991 on the basis of the Su-27-equipped 1st Squadron. The team debuted in the UK in September 1991. Since then, the Russian Knights have participated in a lot of air shows, both in Russia and abroad. This is the only aerobatic team in the world to perform formation aerobatics on heavy fighters. The Russian Knights currently fly six Su-27 aircraft.
The Swifts aerobatic team first performed under its own name on May 6, 1991, the day now celebrated annually as the team's birthday. The Swifts fly six jets of the MiG-29 type, which is universally recognized as the world’s best light fighter.
At the Al-Ain air show, the two teams performed joint four-ship diamond formation flying, duo, solo and opposing solo aerobatics on an Su-27 (Colonel Igor Tkachenko, Russian Knights Squadron Commander) and a MiG-29 (Colonel Nikolai Dyatel, Swifts Squadron Commander).
Al-Ain 2005 also included performances by aerobatic teams from India, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and the UAE. In the grand prix section of the air show, Russia was represented by Viktor Chmal, Svetlana Fedorenko, Svetlana Kapanina, Mikhail Mamistov and Sergei Rakhmanin, all of them flying Su-26 aerobatic aircraft.
Among the honorary guests were members of the UAE government, heads of state and government leaders of Middle Eastern nations, as well as members of foreign embassies in the UAE.
His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Al-Ain Aerobatic Show, and Atlas Aerospace President George Nikiforov noted in the organizers' joint statement that the performance of the Russian aerobatic teams had proved high professionalism of the pilots, reliability and excellent performance of Russian aircraft, and had contributed to strengthening friendship between the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation and building mutual trust between the air forces of Russia and foreign countries.
