India’s military might on display
SHOW-STOPPERS Live demonstrations give glimpses of the professional capabilities of defence personnel
LUCKNOW: Glimpses of the professional capabilities of defence personnel virtually gave goosebumps to spectators as the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army began the much awaited live demonstrations during the 11th biennial Defence Expo 2020.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was a spectator here on Wednesday.
The Indian Army’s Corps of Signals, popularly known as ‘The Dare Devils’ gave an enthralling start to the show as they performed thrilling stunts on bikes.
Their human formations and acrobatics well displayed their mental alertness, unmatched courage, physical stamina and precision in handling motor cycles.
Next came the live demonstration by the famous sky diving team of Indian Air Force Akash Ganga and 14 paratroopers displayed their sky-diving skills at a dizzying height of 8,000 feet. The group landed after being given smoke signals from the ground. It took a good six minutes for the paratroopers to land.
Then it was a time for IAF and the Indian Army live demonstration. It began with the Rudra formation under which ALH IV helicopters (with integrated weapon system) performed flypast. This was followed by another flypast that was carried out by Chinook, the heavy lift helicopter that got inducted into IAF’s fleet recently.
At the same time light utility helicopter and light combat helicopters also gave flypast, forming ‘Vic’ formation.
Then came the much awaited act by the world’s most agile fighter aircraft—Sukhoi 30MKI. The twin engine multirole fighter jet of Russian origin performed several breathtaking stunts including looping, vertical Charlie, slow speed demonstration and flying in reverse gear.
The live show concluded with the army displaying the capabilities of war machines like Tungushka, Bofors, Cheetah helicopters, All Terrain Vehicles, Arjun tank, T- 90 tank and others. The programme lasted for one hour.