New Delhi: Punjab will showcase the 350th martyrdom year of Guru Tegh Bahadur at the 77th Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26, while the Indian Air Force (IAF) will present a special composite flypast formation highlighting operational air-attack capability under Operation Sindoor carried out against Pakistan in May last year.

For the IAF, the centrepiece will be a single, powerful composite formation named ‘Sindoor’, comprising Rafale, Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-29 and Jaguar fighter jets. IAF officials said the formation would depict “a decisive edge and operational dominance.” The Sindoor formation will include seven fighters flying in close formation, accompanied by a helicopter carrying the Operation Sindoor flag.

The flypast will also feature a wide range of aircraft and helicopters, including the indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The Apache attack helicopter made by Boeing and the Russian-origin Mi-17 helicopter will take part, alongside special operations and transport aircraft such as the C-295 and C-130. The Naval maritime surveillance aircraft, the Boeing P-8I, will also feature, while the Army will field four helicopters in the aerial display.

Apart from Punjab, states and Union Territories presenting tableaux this year include Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The Republic Day parade is expected to combine cultural heritage, military capability and the narrative of a self-reliant India into a unified national spectacle.