By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 25, 2014: PRESIDENT Obama is in town and India's military prowess and achievements in different fields, state-of- the- art defence platforms, its diverse cultural and social traditions, and the government’s emphasis on self-reliance and indigenisation will be showcased before the public at the historic Rajpath when the country celebrates its 66th Republic Day tomorrow.

The highlights of this year’s Parade will be the display of indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash medium range missile (Army version) and Weapon Locating Radar both developed by the DRDO. The recently acquired long range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft P-8I and the deadly long range advanced air fighter MiG-29 K will be seen for the first time. This year’s parade will also witness for the first time three all women marching contingents of the Army, Navy and the Air Force signifying women’s powerful role in the realm of defence.

The Indian Army’s laser guided missile capability T-90 “Bheeshma” tank, infantry combat vehicle BMP II (Sarath) followed by T-72 with Trawl will be the main draw in the Mechanised Columns. These will be followed by Pinaka Multiple Barrel Launcher System. Next comes the Mobile Autonomous Launcher of BRAHMOS missile system, three dimensional tactical control radar, satellite on the move communication platform and rapidly deployable satellite terminal (RADSAT).

An Indian Air Force tableau will roll down the Rajpath with the theme “50 years of 1965 War”. The IAF aircraft on display are the ones that proved their prowess in the 1965 War- the Gnat and the Vampire, followed by the Canberra bomber, MI-4 helicopter and Packet transport aircraft.

Tableaux from 16 States and 09 Central Ministries and Departments will present the varied historical, architectural and cultural heritage of the country. They will also showcase country’s progress in different fields, particularly floats from Women and Child Development Ministry depicting “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”, Sikkim’s contribution to the national economy through its large Cardamom Cultivation and tableau on Bhagoria tribal festival of Madhya Pradesh which will be of special attraction. Twenty of the Twenty four children selected for the National Bravery Award–2014 will also participate in the parade. Four children have got the award posthumously. In the children’s pageant section, nearly 1,200 boys and girls drawn from four schools in Delhi and one each from West Zone and South Central Cultural Centres will perform colourful dances on Rajpath. In this category a dance depicting India’s first successful launching of spaceship ‘Mangalyaan’ into the orbit of Mars and another dance programme on “Swachh Bharat” will draw the attention of the spectators.

‘Jaanbaaz’, the motorcycle display by the Border Security Force will be a major attraction of the parade. Incidentally, the paramilitary force is now celebrating its Golden Jubilee. They will perform different stunts like Border Men Salute, Side Riding, Ladder Balancing, Communal Harmony, Peacock Riding, Acrobat, Parallel Bar, Lotus, Seema Prahari and Flag March formations etc on moving motor cycles.

The grand finale of the parade will be a spectacular flypast by the IAF. The flypast will commence with ‘Chakra’ formation, comprising three Mi-35 helicopters in ‘Vic’ formation, followed by the “Hercules” formation comprising three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. Trailing them will be a ‘Poseidon’ formation comprising one P-8I aircraft flanked by two MiG-29 Ks and the “Globe” formation comprising one C-17 Globemaster flanked by two Su-30s. Next in line will be the fighters, where five Jaguars will fly in Arrowhead formation, another five Mig-29 Air Superiority Fighters called the “Tridents” will fly in Fulcrum style. Then the breath-taking Trishul formation comprising three Su-30 MkI of No. 2 Squadron would fly over the Rajpath, and once in front of the saluting dais, the Su-30 MkI aircraft will split upwards, making a Trishul in the sky. The flypast will conclude with another Su-30 MkI carrying out a “Vertical Charlie” manoeuvre over the saluting dais.