The Republic Day parade at the Rajpath this year will see the biggest fly past ever with 75 aircraft taking part in it to mark the 75th Independence year. The latest induction, Rafale fighter jets, along with aircraft from the three Services, will enthrall the audience.
Giving details of the planned celebrations, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Indranil Nandi said here on Monday the fly past will be the “grandest and largest” to mark the “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”. The fly past will conclude with several Jaguar fighter aircraft flying in the “Amrit” formation to commemorate the 75 years of Independence.
“The fly past this year will be the grandest and largest with 75 aircraft from IAF, Army and Navy flying during the Republic Day parade. This is in line with the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations,” he said.
The fly past will include Tangail formation — a tribute to the Tangail airdrop operations in 1971 War — will have one Dakota and two Dornier flying in Vic formation.
There will also be Meghna formation of 1 Chinook and four Mi-17s.
The fly past will begin with “Dhwaj” formation with four Mi-17 aircraft, followed by “Rudra” and “Rahat” formations with 4 and 5 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) respectively.
Among the other aircraft that will display their might at the parade are Rafale, Indian Navy’s MiG29K, P-8I surveillance aircraft and Jaguar fighter jets.
The Navy’s P 8 I long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft that were deployed in Ladakh and earlier in Doklam to pick up Chinese activities will also be part of the fly past. The P8I will fly with the Navy’s two MiG 29K aircraft in a formation called Varuna.
In keeping with the theme of “Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav”, the spectacular fly past will include fighter jets, combat helicopters and transport aircraft representing all three forces.
The event will include 39 fighter jets, 28 helicopters and eight transport aircraft of the IAF, Army and Navy flying in various formations.
The Rafale will be seen in three formations. The Vinash formation will have five Rafale jets, Baaz formation will have one Rafale, flanked by two Jaguars, two Su-30s and two MiG 29s.
The fly past will take place in two phases - the first before the parade and the second after the marching contingents have gone past Rajpath.
The first formation before the parade starts will be the Dhwaj with 4 MI 17 V5 helicopters. The first will have the national flag and others will display the flags of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
This will be followed by four Rudra combat helicopters. In the second phase, there will be 13 formations with different aircraft used by the three forces. The final formation, Amrit, will comprise 17 Jaguar fighter jets, commemorating 75 years of Independence.
