President Droupadi Murmu attended the celebrations at the Sukhna Lake complex, in the Tricity. Nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters participated in the air show.
India Air Force' 90th anniversary celebrated in Chandigarh (Photo: Twitter/@rashtrapatibhvn)
Indian Air Force (IAF) celebrated its 90th anniversary on Saturday by holding a spectacular air show at Chandigarh.
President Droupadi Murmu attended the celebrations at the Sukhna Lake complex, in the Tricity. Nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters participated in the air show.
On Air Force Day, greetings to air warriors and veterans of the Indian Air Force! The nation is proud of IAF for bravely guarding our skies and rendering help during calamities. It was delightful to witness an impressive air show from the scenic Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. pic.twitter.com/c1llkuHBSg
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— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 8, 2022
Meanwhile, in his address, the IAF chief Marshal, VR Chaudhari said a new weapon systems branch will be created to handle all its sophisticated ground-based and air-launched weapon systems including surface to surface missiles, surface to air missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and weapon system operators in twin and multi-crew aircrafts.
“It is my privilege to announce that the government has approved the creation of a Weapon System Branch for Officers in the IAF. This is the first time since independence that a new operational branch is being created’, Chaudhari said while speaking on the occasion. He also highlighted that the creation of this branch would result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crores due to reduced expenditure on flying training.
The IAF chief said the key to success in multi-domain operations is to have flexible, robust and redundant command and control structures which will allow a joint force to dominate across domains.
“No single service can win a war on its own. Work is in progress to “enhance joints” among the three services”, he said. Chaudhari earlier inspected a ceremonial parade that was held at the air force station this morning to mark the IAF anniversary. It was followed by a march-past.
A fly-past in ensign formation was performed by 3 Mi-17V5, and led by Wing Commander Vishal Jain, when the IAF chief arrived.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 8, 2022
Chaudhari said, induction of air warriors into the IAF through the Agnipath scheme is a challenge, but also an opportunity to harness the potential of India’s youth in the service of the nation. Meanwhile, the IAF also unveiled the new combat uniform of the force on Saturday.
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