Varanasi, Oct. 25 -- This Sunday's Indian Air Force display, the "Wings Over Ganges," at Varanasi displayed a combination of military might, indigenous military capabilities, and India's rich civilisation in the form of a display of India's air force against the backdrop of the Ganga. This event took place as part of the celebration of the 94th anniversary of the Indian Air Force, but further gained a larger political dimension given that the upcoming UP Assembly elections - scheduled for 2027 and the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi - Varanasi.
The city, also known as Kashi, was a unique cultural context in which the display took place by combining the spiritual heritage of the city with the display of modern military aviation technology.
For the BJP, Varanasi retains significance as an important part of its political narrative because of Modi's personal association with the city and the party's nationalist cultural politics. In addition, it is also an important publicity platform for drawing attention towards national security and modernisation of defence as well as indigenisation of production; the event was even significant as it put the spotlight on Purvanchal, which is a significant political constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the event at Namo Ghat, here, in Varanasi, along with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In total, 94 aircrafts of the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Navy participated, underscoring the importance of jointness and inter-service coordination.
Among the aircraft involved in the aerial display were the front-line fighters such as the Rafale, Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar and Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. The fast and aerobatic performances of these fighters emphasised their precise performance and combat capabilities.
Helicopter formation flights also formed a part of the display with the Sarang aerobatics team performing manoeuvres to exhibit coordinated flying skills. The Prachand Light Combat Helicopter and Apache attack helicopter formations displayed the capability to perform battlefield air support tasks, while Chinook heavy lift helicopters, C-130J Super Hercules and C-295 transport aircraft highlighted the mobility capability of the force.
Nascent formations depicting gods from Hindu mythology, religious places and the Ganga, which combined the strength of the Armed Forces and the culture of Kashi this time. Starting with Kashi formation had three Kiran Mk-II aircraft with the country's flag behind them; Kedaar had the demonstration of Rafale fighter's aerial tricks and Hanuman had the tricks performed by the Su-30MKI fighter aircraft. Sarnath formation had the old Harvard aircraft in it, while Sarang formation was the IAF's helicopter formation.
Omkar had three Mi-17 V-5 helicopters while Ganga had Chetak helicopters dropping petals of flowers on the river. Rudra and Shankar had the high-speed and reconnaissance tricks of Su-30MKI fighter aircraft. Bhagirathi had the coordination between Prachand Light Combat Helicopters and Apache attack helicopters while Tridev showed the coordination between Army, Navy and Air Force. Alaknanda had Chinook helicopters along with Rudra gunships.
The formation named Bhairav consisted of a C-295 escorted by two Dornier Do-228 aircraft, while Kailash had a C-130J Super Hercules escorted by two An-32 aircraft. In Trilochan, there was an Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft named Netra escorted by MiG-29 fighters. Similarly, Natraj saw P-8I of the Navy escorted by Mirage 2000 fighters, while Mahadev showed air-to-air refuelling of an Il-78 tanker escorted by Mirage 2000 fighters.
Some of the other formations were Vishwanath (Su-30MKI), Pashupati (Jaguar), Neelkanth (Rafale), Prachand (six types of combat aircraft in one formation), Assi (Tejas) and Dashashwa (C-17 with the Suryakiran team).
The Netra airborne early warning and control aircraft underscored the importance of surveillance and threat detection, while the Il-78 tanker formation, escorted by Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft, highlighted the air force's air-to-air refuelling capability.
Not only was the event an exercise in its military aspect, but it was also an outreach effort that brought the Air Force closer to the citizens.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.