Sabre Killer on display at IAF Museum Palam. It was notable for its small size and impressive performance, especially the rate of climb. The first Gnat unit was No. 23 Sqn. "Panthers", which flew the type from Feb 1960 to Jan 1978, downing a PAF F-86 on 3 Sep 1965 as IAF'S first jet kill. Other units to fly the type were No. 2 Sqn. "Winged Arrows", 9 "Wolfpack", 15 "Flying Lances", 18 "Flying Bullets", 21 "Ankush", 22 "Swifts" and 24 "Hawks". Behind the aircraft is the photo of Fg Offr Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC, killed in action in the 1971 Indo-Pak War while flying a Gnat.

Centrepiece of the static lineup on Air Force Day 2021, this Gnat commemorates the Golden Anniversary of the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Fittingly, the aircraft carries the Regn. E257 as a tribute to Fg Off Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon of No. 18 Sqn, the only airman to be posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for valor. Sekhon was on ORP at Srinagar on 14 Dec. 1971 when the airfield was attacked by six PAF Sabres. He scrambled as bombs were falling and engaged them despite the odds, before falling to the escort.

Gnat E1070 & HJT-16 Kiran Mk.1 U703 on its way to Farnborough Air Show.