Over 100 aircraft, including Rafales, to be part of air show in Prayagraj

Delhi: As India is all set to commemorate the completion of  91st year of the Indian Air Force (IAF), over 100 aircrafts including the Rafale fighter jets will be included in a flamboyant air show which is to be held in Prayagraj on October 8.

The MiG-21 would be participating in the show for the last time and will also see new aircraft like the C-295 transport aircraft

“Earlier, our air show used to be held in Hindon (Ghaziabad) where only people from Delhi and its surrounding areas could see this air show. But this time, we are organising it in Prayagraj. Since the Sangam confluence area is very large, a large number of people will be able to enjoy the air show here,” Air Marshal said

To make this air display possible, a whopping over 100 aircrafts including Rafale, Tejas, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi, MIG-29, C-103 besides Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, Chinook, Apache, and Mi 17 would be taking off from various air bases of Central Air Command including Agra, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Gwalior and Prayagraj among others and then take part in the coordinated air display—a complex process requiring to-the-second precision, for which these practice runs are taking place.

The legendary MiG-21 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will fly for the last time in any air-display. The process of gradually retiring these Russian-made jets from the air force has already commenced. The MiG-21 was introduced into the IAF in the 1960s. Currently, only three operational MiG-21 squadrons exist within the IAF, and all of them are scheduled to be phased out by early 2025. The air display would witness a formal send-off to these fighter aircrafts over Sangam with their last ever flight in an air display. These aircraft have demonstrated their effectiveness in several of India’s past wars. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the MiG-21s (Type 77 variant) played a significant role in tilting the war in India’s favour. The MiG-21 was also a key asset for the IAF in the 1965 war and the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.