Chandigarh hosts 90th IAF Day celebrations with President in attendance
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be hosting its parade and fly-past air show in Chandigarh — the first instance outside of Delhi NCR — to mark the IAF Day on Saturday. President Draupadi Murmu and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be attending the aerial event at Sukhna Lake. Eighty aircraft will participate in the air show on IAF's 90th anniversary.
New combat uniform to be unveiled
The IAF Day observes the official induction of the IAF in 1932. The Chief of Air Staff is set to unveil a new pattern of combat uniform for IAF personnel at the event. The event witnessed various aircraft formations which also included the recently inducted and indigenously made Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The ceremony began with the parade contingent's march
Tributes at National War Memorial the previous evening
Ahead of the event, a full dress rehearsal was carried out on Thursday. The Chandigarh administration has arranged buses to ferry people to the event from designated locations. The Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari among others paid tributes at the National War Memorial in Delhi on Friday evening.
Aircraft to display firefighting, helocasting
The fly-past aerial show kicked off with a team of paratroopers in an Antonov An-32 aircraft called Aakash Ganga. IAF's vintage aircraft Harvard and Dakota also participated in the show. Mi-17 V5 helicopters will perform a firefighting operation with a Bambi bucket while Mi-17 IV helicopters will showcase helocasting. A range of aircraft exhibit enthralling aerial formations.
Various formations to pep up spectators
The US-made Chinook helicopters will exhibit Bhim formation. Rafale, Jaguar, Tejas, and Mirage 2000 jets will fly in 'Sekhon' formation — named after Param Vir Chakra recipient late Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon. A C-17 heavy lift aircraft accompanied by nine Hawk-132 jets will showcase the Globe formation. Two Apache and ALH Mk-IV helicopters led by a Mi-35 chopper will fly in the Eklavya formation.
President is on 2-day visit to Chandigarh
Three Mi-17 V5 helicopters in Ensign formation will welcome the President, who is also the Commander-in-chief of the IAF. President Murmu is on a two-day visit to Chandigarh on Saturday and Sunday, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. Later she will attend a civic reception which will be hosted in her honor at Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
