The Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) aerobatic team was formed April 5, 1991 and is based at the 237th Guards Proskurov Air Force Regiment, comprising the best pilots from the Kubinka Air Base near Moscow.
The team includes Vladimir Basov, Alexander Dyatlov, Sergei Ganichev, Vladimir Bukin, Vladimir Bazhenov and Alexander Lichkun.
The team now has six fourth-generation Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighters and is the world’s only unit performing aerobatic stunts both solo and in formation in warplanes of this class.
Moreover, five Su-27s and four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters from the Strizhi (Swifts) team fly in the Big Nine formation.