Republic Day 2021 Image: Rafale fighter jets at Republic Day parade for the first time
A Rafale fighter jet for the first time was part of the Republic Day parade. Today's Republic Day parade drew to a close with the customary fly-past by the Indian Air Force fighter jets. The stunning "Vertical Charlie" manoeuvre was carried out by a Rafale jet at the 72nd Republic Day parade on Delhi's Rajpath. A total of 38 IAF aircraft and four planes of the Indian Army participated in the flypast. The Rafale fighter jet conducted Eklavya formation by flying at a height of around 300 meter along with two Jagaur and two MIG-29 aircraft. The five jets resembled a V shape with Rafale leading the pack. The audience at the Republic Day parade was able to see the Rafale again when it conducted the Brahmastra formation where it traversed at a low altitude for some distance, then pulled up vertically at 90 degrees and conducted rolls before stabilising at a higher altitude.
As on every Republic Day, every flypast was divided into two blocks: the first was along with the parade and the second after the parade. In the first block, there were three formations: the ''Nishan'' formation comprising four Mi17V5 aircraft that carried the National Flag and logos of all three services. It was followed by the ''Dhruv'' formation by four helicopters of Army Aviation Corps. The last was the ''Rudra'' formation, comprising a single Dakota aircraft flanked by two Mi17V5 helicopters.
The second block of the flypast consisted of nine formations: Sudarshan, Rakshak, Bhim, Netra, Garuda, Eklavya, Trinetra, Vijay and Brahmastra. The IAF showcased models of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile Dhruvastra during the Republic Day parade. Indigenously built next-generation anti-radiation missile Rudram and anti-tank guided missile Dhruvastra were displayed on the LCA and the LCH on the tableaux. Sukhoi-30Mki was displayed with indigenously developed Astra and Brahmos missiles.
The Indian Army showcased its main battle tank T-90 Bhishma, infantry combat vehicle BMP-II-Sarath, mobile autonomous launcher of the BrahMos missile system, multi-launcher rocket system Pinaka, electronic warfare system Samvijay among others during the parade. The Navy's tableau at the Republic Day parade this year displayed models of Indian naval ship (INS) Vikrant and naval operations that were conducted during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.