Indian Air Force Day 2022 parade and fly-past in Chandigarh; Prachand makes public appearance

Chandigarh: The Indian Air Force is holding its annual Air Force Day parade and fly-past outside the Delhi NCR for the first time.

Nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters will be participating in the Air Force Day fly-past on Saturday at the Sukhna Lake complex in Chandigarh.

The Indian Air Force is putting up a dazzling show with a range of aircraft during its air show as part of its 90th-anniversary celebrations.

President Droupadi Murmu and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are present at Sukhna Lake to witness the aerial show.

Before the air show, a ceremonial parade was held at the air force station on Saturday morning. Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari will inspect the parade.

The Chief of Air Staff will also unveil the new pattern of combat uniform for the IAF personnel on this occasion, they said.

ALH Mk IV chopper will fly past in Rudra formation at the parade event, the officials said. There will be a demonstration by the mechanical transport team of vehicle dismantling and reassembly in a short time at the event, followed by a performance of the air warrior drill team.

Later in the afternoon, the fly-past will be held at Sukhna Lake.

Recently inducted indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) "Prachand" will showcase its aerial prowess during the fly-past in a three aircraft formation.

Developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the 5.8-tonne twin-engine LCH is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns and rocket systems, and it is capable of destroying enemy tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions.

Besides LCH 'Prachand', several other aircraft including Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Sukhoi, Mig-29, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J and Hawk will be part of the fly-past.

Among helicopters, Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, Chinook, Apache and Mi-17 will be part of the aerial display.

The fly-past will commence with an 'Aakash Ganga' team of paratroopers in an AN-32 aircraft. Mi 17 V5 choppers will undertake a fire fighting operation using a 'bambi bucket' while Mi17 IV helicopters will be performing helo casting.

US-made Chinook choppers, which are used for transporting troops, artillery etc will perform Bhim formation.

Rafale, Jaguar, Tejas and Mirage 2000 will fly in 'Sekhon' formation. This formation is dedicated to the IAF officer and Param Vir Chakra recipient, late Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon.

The crowd will be enthralled by 'Ensign' formation comprising three Mi-17 V5 helicopters after the arrival of Chief Guest President Murmu.

The Globe formation will comprise a C-17 heavy lift aircraft and nine Hawk- 132 jets trained from the Surya Kiran display team, according to the officials.

There will also be Eklavya formation which will comprise a Mi-35 aircraft in lead with two Apache and ALH Mk IV helicopters while the "Big Boy" formation will consist of an IL-76 and two AN-32 aircrafts.

IAF's vintage aircraft Harvard and Dakota will also make an appearance in the air show. The Surya Kiran team comprising nine Hawk and Sarang helicopter display team comprising four Dhruv choppers will also perform.

There will also be Vajraang formation comprising C-130 J and Sukhoi-30 and Netra formation by airborne early warning and control aircraft and Sukhoi-30 and Mig 29 fighter jets.

The full dress rehearsal for the Air Force Day and fly-past was conducted on Thursday.

The city administration has arranged buses from designated places to ferry people to the air show.

Tight security arrangements have been made ahead of the Air Force day celebrations.