Nation

Indian Air Force Day: Spectacular Air Show Leaves President Murmu And Others In Awe

October 8, 2022
Bharat Times

On the occasion of its 90th-anniversary celebrations, the Indian Air Force (IAF) put on a spectacular display on Saturday with more than 70 military aircraft and helicopters from its current and historic fleet in Chandigarh, news agency ANI reported.

The annual Air Force Day parade and fly-past are being held for the first time outside of the Delhi-National Capital Region.

A ceremonial parade was staged at this air force station in the morning and was seen by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari before the magnificent air show. In his speech, Chaudhari stated that the formation of a weapon system branch for IAF officers has been authorised by the federal government, saving the IAF around Rs 3,400 crore in flying training costs, ANI reported.

The air show’s chief guest was President Drupadi Murmu. At the ceremony were Rajnath Singh, the governors of Punjab and Haryana, Banwarilal Purohit and Bandaru Dattatreya, the chief minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, and Chandigarh MP, Kirron Kher. Senior active and retired officials from the three services, together with the IAF chief, attended the air show.

When Murmu arrived in Chandigarh for the first time as president, she was greeted by a guard of honour, ANI reported.

The official Twitter handle of Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted, “On Air Force Day, greetings to air warriors and veterans of the Indian Air Force! The nation is proud of IAF for bravely guarding our skies and rendering help during calamities. It was delightful to witness an impressive air show from the scenic Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh.”

“Greetings and best wishes to the courageous IAF air warriors and their families on the Indian Air Force Day. The IAF is known for its valour, excellence, performance and professionalism. India is proud of its men and women in blue. Wishing them blue skies and happy landings.” Rajnath Singh said in a tweet earlier in the day.

The crowd cheered as a ‘Aakash Ganga’ squad of paratroopers ejected from an AN-32 plane at 8,000 feet to commence the air show. Then newly inducted indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) “Prachand” displayed its aerial skill during the fly-past in a three aircraft formation, this left President Murmu and the other dignitaries in awe, ANI reported.

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Several other aircraft, including the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Sukhoi, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J, and Hawk, also performed impressive manoeuvres in front of the audience to thunderous acclaim.

Eight bases were used by the aircraft when they flew over Sukhna Lake in overcast weather with a visibility of up to six kilometres.

The audience was captivated by many maneuvers performed by the Rafale. Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, Chinook, Apache, and Mi-17 helicopters participated in the display.

Harvard and Dakota, which were also included in the display, were taken from the IAF’s vintage fleet. Dakota, whose Indian name is Parashuram, served in the war of 1971. Numerous beautiful formations were created in the air by these and many other aircrafts which left the audience feeling thrilled.

(With Inputs From ANI)