ALH, Tejas to be absent from Republic Day flypast

The indigenously made Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) will not be part of the Republic Day flypast this year as the entire fleet of 330 helicopters across the armed forces has been grounded following the crash of an Indian Coast Guard ALH on January 5 at Porbandar, Gujarat.

The ALH and its multiple variants have been part of Republic Day flypasts in the past 15 years or so.

The helicopter is showcased as a prime indigenous platform. The ALH is part of the fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy, Army, and Coast Guard.

Several civilian operators also fly it.

The IAF will conduct its customary flypast over Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26, the IAF said on Thursday.

The flypast will comprise 22 fighter jets, 11 transport planes, seven helicopters, and three Dornier surveillance planes of the Coast Guard. The flypast will also not include the indigenous fighter jet, the Tejas. The jet is a single-engine platform, and the IAF stopped flying single-engine jets in the Republic Day flypast many years ago.

The flypast will be in two separate phases. The Mi-17 helicopters carrying the national flag will be part of the commencement of the parade. A formation of MiG-29s will fly overhead when the IAF marching contingent of 144 personnel is on the parade route.

The second phase of the flypast will mark the culmination of the parade. The first formation will be the Apache attack helicopter, followed by transport planes like the An-32 and two Dorniers. The transport plane C-17, the surveillance plane 'Netra', will be part of the flypast. A formation of Jaguar fighter jets and Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets will follow. The Sukhoi pilots will do the 'Trishul maneuver' – three Sukhoi jets will split in three different directions over Kartavya Path. A formation of six Rafale jets will follow.

A single Rafale jet will culminate the parade with a striking maneuver called the 'vertical charlie'. The jet will go straight up in the air in a vertical trajectory.