Indian Air Force Day 2022: A ceremonial parade was held at the air force station in Chandigarh on Saturday morning on the occasion of the 90th-anniversary celebrations of the IAF. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari inspected the parade which was followed by a march-past.
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran was among senior IAF officers present on the occasion.
When the IAF chief arrived, an ensign formation performed by 3 Mi-17V5 helicopters, led by Wing Commander Vishal Jain, did a fly-past.
Nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters will participate later in the day in an Air Force Day fly-past at the Sukhna Lake complex in Chandigarh.
The Indian Air Force is expected to put up a spectacular show with the range of aircraft at its disposal as part of the celebrations.
It is for the first time that the IAF has decided to hold its annual Air Force Day parade and fly-past outside the Delhi-NCR.
President Droupadi Murmu and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the aerial show at Sukhna Lake.
Creation of a weapon system branch for IAF officers approved: Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari
The central government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for the officers of the Indian Air Force, which would save it Rs 3,400 crore in flying training, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said in Chandigarh on Saturday.
This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created, Chaudhari said in his speech here on the occasion of 90th anniversary celebrations of the IAF.
"On this historic occasion, it is my privilege to announce that the government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for the officers in the IAF.
"This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created," he said.
The weapon system branch will essentially man the specialised streams of surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air-missiles, remotely piloted aircraft, and weapon system operators in twin and multi-crew aircraft, he said.
The creation of this branch would result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crore due to the reduced expenditure on flying training, the IAF chief said.
Indian Air Force Day 2022: Aircraft on display
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 firefighting 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 by the Surya Kiran display team, according to the officials.
There will also be the 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 aircraft.
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.
(With inputs from PTI)
