Since the initial aircraft first being delivered in 1968, the Kiran has been operated by both the IAF and the
Indian Navy 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, 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 was subsequently selected for this role. Both the
Indian Naval Air Arm and the Indian Air Force have independently operated their own aerobatic display teams,
Sagar Pawan and
Surya Kiran respectively. On 3 March 2010, a Kiran Mk II of the Sagar Pawan aerobatic team crashed into a building in
Hyderabad 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, these aircraft were dispatched along with a team of specialists to train both pilots and ground crew in their operation. 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 over the region. To aid in the development of the
HAL CATS project, a Kiran mk.ii was converted into an optionally uncrewed aircraft named OMCA, further conversions are expected as the plane will be phased out of service. ==Variants==