Chennai enthralled at IAF airshow, the first in South India

The highly-anticipated airshow 2024 of the IAF commenced at 11 a.m. and was being watched by 15 lakh people with bated breaths at Marina Beach

Chennai: The aerobatic power of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was on full display in Chennai with people glued to the sky during the first airshow underway down south on Sunday.

The event marks the 92nd celebration of the IAF, instituted on October 8, 1932. The highly-anticipated airshow 2024 of the IAF commenced at 11 a.m. and was being watched by 15 lakh people with bated breaths at Marina Beach.

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It will showcase 72 aircraft, including Rafale, indigenously manufactured state-of-the-art Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Light Combat helicopter Prachand, and Heritage aircraft Dakota.

The display was being controlled by the Air Traffic Controller at the Chennai Airport. Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi-30, Suryakiran, and indigenously developed HAL Tejas, among others, were on display at the airshow.

Earlier, expressing concern over bird strikes, the IAF requested people not to bring eatables while attending the airshow. The IAF’s Suryakiran aerobatic team and helicopter aerobatic formation Sarang enthralled the crowd.

Chief Coordinating Officer of the Chennai Airshow, Air Vice Marshall K. Premkumar, said the Indian Air Force made major preparations for the Air Show 2024 at Chennai to enter into the Limca Book of Records.

The IAF conducted a full dress rehearsal at the airshow on Friday in coordination with the Tambaram unit of the IAF. It is the third time the IAF conducted its airshow outside the national capital and the first time in South India.

In October 2023, the IAF conducted the airshow at Prayagraj, and in 2022, it was held in Chandigarh. The Greater Chennai Police has deployed 6,500 cops and 1,500 Home guards for the Chennai Airshow.

K. Kirubakaran, an engineering student at Chennai, told IANS, “The airshow gave me goosebumps and showed how systematic and aerobatic our pilots are. The airshow has motivated me to opt for a career in the service of the nation and after my engineering, I will join the Air Force. The airshow of the IAF has inspired me to take this decision.”