Pramesh S Jain & Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
The theme for the Air Force Day was ‘IAF: Transforming for the Future’.
Chief of the Air St
aff (CAS),Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari,was the chief guest for the parade conducted in the morning at Air Force station, Chandigarh.
The fly past and aerial display was conducted on the banks of the picturesque Sukhna Lake,where the Hon’ble President,Smt Draupadi Murmu was the chief guest.Hon’ble RM Shri Rajnath Singh, Governor of Haryana,Governor of Punjab and other civil and military dignitaries were also present.
This is the first occasion when the Air Force Day parade has been conducted outside Delhi.The decision to shift the venue this year to Chandigarh was taken to facilitate the population of Chandigarh to get a glimpse of the Air Force parade and view the fly past.
IAF will conduct future Air Force Day parades at different locations in India.
While addressing the parade in the morning,CAS acknowledged the invaluable contribution of the veterans and the sacrifice made by IAF’s fallen braves.
He brought out that IAF is transforming to newer aircraft, systems and concepts in order to be ready for challenges of the future.
In the speech,CAS also conveyed the Govt’s approval for creation of Weapons Systems branch for officers in the IAF.
This is the first time since independence that a new operational branch is being created.This will essentially be for manning of four specialised streams of Surface to Surface missiles,Surface to Air Missiles,Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Weapon System Operators in twin and multi crew aircraft.
Creation of this branch would result in savings of over Rs.3400 Crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training, since officers will be inducted into the WS branch at the commissioning stage itself.
The parade also saw introduction of a new digital pattern combat dress for IAF.This new pattern has been designed and manufactured in India, and is especially suited for the operating environment for IAF personnel.
The celebrations culminated with a dazzling flypast and aerial display by 84 aircraft of IAF on the banks of the Sukhna Lake of Chandigarh.
The recently inducted LCH Prachand took part in the show for the very first time.Surya Kiran and Sarang teams were also part of the display.
