Indian Air Force to hold first-of-its-kind airshow along Indo-Pak border in Jammu

In a first, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be holding an airshow in Jammu along the western border with Pakistan on September 21 as part of its 91st anniversary on October 8, 2023. 

Officials informed Republic that over 10 fighter planes and choppers will be part of this airshow, which will last for a couple of hours. The officials also said that J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha along with top brass of civil administration and officials from the security apparatus will also remain present during the airshow.

Sukhoi, Rafale and war-helicopters like Apache with jet speed will be show stealers, as they will roar near the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu. Few of these aircraft are going to take off from different air bases in the north like Ambala, Jalandhar, and Chandigarh and reach Jammu to jet across the skies near the Pakistan border, officials noted. Skydiving by the Indian Army will be an added attraction at the airshow, where they will jump from a plane with parachutes.

The airshow comes after an annual training exercise, Trishul, of the IAF Western Air Command (WAC) focused on activation of all air assets and force multipliers spread across the Line of Control with Pakistan to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The exercise by IAF is aimed at testing the command’s operational preparedness and a high-level of coordination.

Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sachin Kumar Vaishya chaired a meeting to discuss the arrangements for the IAF airshow and urged the stakeholders to ensure that the event is a success and is widely publicised to encourage maximum public participation. The Department of Information and Public Relations in a statement said, "A first-of-its-kind airshow will be held at Jammu Airfield on September 21. The airshow is being organised by the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the UT administration and will feature a variety of aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters, etc. A meeting in this regard was chaired by Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, and was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner (L&O), Harvinder Singh; AOC Air Force, Jammu, SSP, Jammu, Joint Director Information, Jammu, Atul Gupta, besides, other officers of concerned department.”