The Indian Air Force displayed one of its best-ever fly past contingent at the recently concluded Republic Day Parade. The Republic Day 2023 parade saw 45 aircrafts from the IAF, including a first time display of 9 Rafale fighter jets. Apart from this, many fighter jets, including Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Tejas LCA and cargo planes like C-130J Super Hercules were also part of the grand display. However, like every year, the star attraction was the IAF's Sarang acrobatics helicopter display team, widely regarded among the best display teams globally.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The IAF Sarang team undertook practice sorties before the main Republic Day Parade and has now shared a video on Twitter revealing stunning view from cockpit of one f the Dhruv ALH chopper, capturing other choppers in the formations. The video shows the IAF Sarang team doing a practice flypast over the Kartavya path, formally known as Rajpath, where the Republic Day parade takes place.



The IAF Sarang helicopter aerobatics team is one of the few such teams in the world and performs dangerous coordinated stunts in India and abroad, displaying their exceptional precision, accuracy and flying skills. The IAF Sarang team uses customized Dhruv ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) for the stunts and has special red and white livery on the choppers.



The Dhruv ALH is the India’s most advanced indigenous helicopter being developed and manufactured by HAL. Dhruv has been used for a variety of roles right from SAR, Evac, and RTR operations apart from attack capabilities thanks to an attack variant called Rudra. The helicopter is a twin-engine chopper that can carry 14 passengers with two pilots and has a cruise speed of 250 km/hr.