The 73rd Republic Day witnessed the "grandest and largest" flypast ever with the participation of 75 aircraft to mark the 'Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' celebrations. To commemorate the 75 years of independence, the flypast concluded the parade at Rajpath with 17 Jaguar fighter aircraft flying in the 'Amrit' formation. 



COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

This year the viewers could also see the cockpit of the aircraft on the screens at the parade venue as well as during the broadcast. The flypast included Tangail formation which saw one Dakota and two Dornier flying in Vic formation. This was a tribute to the Tangail airdrop operations of the 1971 War.
There was also a Meghna formation of 1 Chinook and four Mi-17s.


The flypast began with the 'Dhwaj' formation with four Mi-17 aircraft, followed by 'Rudra' and 'Rahat' formations with four and five Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), respectively. Among the other aircraft that displayed their might at the parade are Rafale, Indian Navy's MiG29K, P-8I surveillance aircraft, and Jaguar fighter jets. 


The Indian Air Force is one of the mightiest in the world, thanks to latest-gen aircrafts like Rafale, made by French Dassault Aviation to the trustable workhorse Sukhoi Su-30MKI. While the IAF comprised of some of the best cargo planes and helicopters, the focus, as usual, was on the fighter jets.


With inputs from PTI



With inputs from PTI