New Delhi: As the country celebrated its 73rd Republic Day, there were many firsts in this year’s Republic Day Parade. One of them is the coordination of the Indian Air Force (IAF) sharing the cockpit view of the aircraft that made formations in today’s air show.
Along with the usual coverage of the flypast, the viewers were able to see the cockpit view of the aircraft formations as well as the venue of the parade. The bird's eye view added to the awe of the spectators.
This year’s Republic Day falls in the 75th year of Indian independence which is being celebrated as ‘Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. That is why the air show of this year had 75 aircraft in the "grandest and largest" flypast ever, according to news agency PTI.
The flypast began with the ‘Dhwaj’ formation with four Mi-17 aircraft. It was followed by the second formation of ‘Rahat’ that included five Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH). The third formation was ‘Rudra’ that had four ALHs.
The flypast also included the Tangail formation that had a Dakota and then two Dornier flying in the Vic formation. It was a tribute to the Tangail airdrop operations of the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
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 flypast concluded with 17 Jaguar fighter aircraft flying in the 'Amrit' formation to commemorate the 75 years of India’s Independence from the British Monarchy.