The recently inducted Rafale fighter jet will make fly-past debut in the Air Force Day parade at the Hindon airbase on October 8. The full dress rehearsal of the parade was held on Tuesday.
One Rafale jet would lead the ‘Vijay’ formation, accompanied by two Jaguars and two Mirage 2000 fighters, in the flypast, an IAF officer said. The Rafale would also carry out asynchronous manoeuvres with other aircraft during the parade to mark the 88th Air Force Day.
There would be a total of 56 aircraft in this year’s parade, including 19 fighters, 19 helicopters, seven transport aircraft, seven aircraft of the Suryakiran aerobatic team and two vintage aircraft. In addition, 19 aircraft would be airborne and on standby for any requirement, the officer said.
On the ground, 11 aircraft and two air defence systems, Rohini and Akash, would be on static display. For the first time, there would be an ‘Eklavya’ formation comprising Mi-35 and Ah-64 Apache attack helicopters.
The IAF formally induced five Rafale jets in September and will induct another 3-4 jets in November. The first squadron will be fully ready by end 2021 and will have two squadrons fully operational by 2023.
