The 72nd Republic Day parade happened in Rajpath in Delhi with fewer people, social distancing, and even marching contingents wearing masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A major attraction was a “vertical charlie” manoeuvre by a single Rafale aircraft flying at a speed of 900 km per hour, as part of the fly past, towards the end of the parade. People watched in awe as the Rafale aircraft flying horizontally from the Rashtrapati Bhavan side went vertical, while carrying out a series of rolls, and disappeared in the blue skies.
In the past, the ‘vertical charlie’ manoeuvre was performed by an SU-30MKI aircraft.
The parade, which happened with multi-layer security due to ongoing farmers’ agitation, was shorter in both length and duration. Unlike previous years, the parade ended at National Stadium instead of going till Red Fort.
Stunts missing
Stunts by motorcycle-borne men were missing and a parade of children who received bravery awards was also missing. Also, the spectator size was reduced to about 25,000 from around 1.25 lakh last year, due to the pandemic.
Marching contingents of Army, Navy, and Air Force were on display, but due to the pandemic the numbers were less. Also, a 122-member contingent of the Bangladesh armed forces took part in the parade for the first time.
The tableau section started with one from the newly formed Union Territory of Ladakh, which highlighted the “Vision for Ladakh.”
The parade started around 10 a.m. and ended at 11.45 a.m.
Military might
On Tuesday, the Rafale omni-role fighter jet inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) last year made its debut at the fly past.
One Rafale aircraft flew in formation with two Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft and two MiG-29 air superiority fighters in ‘Vic’ formation at the height of 300 metres and a speed of 780 km per hour.
Another interesting aspect of the fly past was the flying together of Russian and American origin equipment in various formations.
For instance, the Rakshak attack helicopter formation consisted of one Russian Mi-35 helicopter and four AH-64 Apache helicopters from the U.S. in ‘Vic’ formation. Similarly, the Sudarshan formation consisted of one U.S. origin Chinook heavy lift helicopter and two Russian Mi-17 IV Helicopters.
Garuda formation
In another, the Garuda formation comprised one C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft with two MiG-29s and two Su-30 MKI aircraft Russian fighter jets.
At the end of the fly past, the single Rafale, piloted by Group Captain Harkirat Singh, Commanding Officer of 17 Squadron with Squadron Leader Kislaykant, did the ‘Vertical Charlie’ manoeuvre.
The Army showcased T-90 tanks, Bridge Laying tank T-72, Pinaka multi-rocket launch systems and Samvijay electronic warfare system among others. The Army had six marching contingents and three combined bands.
In addition to the services, there were six other marching contingents from the Coast Guard, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Delhi police, the Border Security Force camel contingent and the National Security Guard (NSG).
(With inputs from Saurabh Trivedi and Dinakar Peri)