By Parwinder Sandhu
New Delhi, Dec 24 (UNI) After etching his name in India’s space history, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has made a powerful return to the skies, resuming frontline flying just days after completing the landmark Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station(ISS).
In his first sortie since the spaceflight, Shukla took to the air with the Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran aerobatic team during a practice mission at Bidar on Tuesday, marking a rare and seamless transition from orbit back to high-performance military aviation.
In a post on X, Shukla wrote, “Sure feels good to be back in the cockpit. Flight training remains a cornerstone of astronaut preparation. Few environments demand such seamless integration of sensory inputs, rapid real-time decision-making, and razor-sharp situational awareness. These are not just flying skills- they are survival skills in space.”
“Having spent a lifetime in cockpits, returning to one feels less like a visit and more like coming home. And if there had to be a way back, there could hardly be a finer one than flying alongside the ambassadors of the Indian Air Force- the Suryakirans,” he added.
The fighter pilot also shared a video highlighting his time in the cockpit. Set to the energetic title track of Dhurandhar, the montage featured a mix of still photographs and flight clips. Titled Training with the Suryakiran Team, the video carried the message: “This is how my flying training looked. Astronaut training does not begin in space – it begins in the cockpit. Flying training is a core part of astronaut preparation and is essential for the journey to space.”
Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT), is Asia’s only nine-aircraft formation aerobatic team.
Shukla who was commissioned into IAF in 2006, has has about 2,000 hours of flight experience operating aircraft such as the MiG-21, MiG-29, Sukhoi Su-30, Dornier, and Hawk. Recently he was named The Week’s ‘Man of Year’.
