The Republic Day Celebrations will commence with the Homage Ceremony at the National War Memorial (New Delhi) where the Hon’ble PM of India will lead the nation in paying homage to those who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of their duties. An Inter-Service inner guard will be formed comprising seven personnel from each Service. With the IAF being the lead Service this year, the guard will be commanded by Squadron Leader Akash Ganghas.
The proceedings of the Republic Day Parade at Kartavyapath will commence with the unfurling of the National Flag and presenting of the Rashtriya Salute to the Hon’ble President of India. The President would be assisted in unfurling the National Flag by Flight Lieutenant Komal Rani.
*Marching Contingent*: The air warriors participating in the Republic Day parade have been selected through a stringent process from across the Air Force. The contingent undergoes an intensive practice session every day starting in the early hours of the day. The Contingent will consist of four officers and 144 air warriors marching in a Box formation of 12 Rows x 12 Columns. The Contingent will be led by Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy with three supernumerary officers Flight Lieutenant Ayush Agarwal, Flight Lieutenant Tanuj Mailk and Flight Lieutenant Pradhan Nikhil. The IAF has won the Best Marching Contingent trophy in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2020. The award of the Best Marching Contingent in the popular choice category in 2022 was also won by the IAF.
*Air Force Band Contingent*: The marching tunes for the contingent will be played by the Air Force Band contingent consisting of 72 musicians and three drum majors. The band would be led by Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar who has the distinction of participating in the Republic Day Parade Airforce band contingent for the past 26 years, and leading the contingent for the past 16 years. The famous martial tune, ‘Sound Barrier’ composed by MWO JA George, VSM, and Ladakoo composed by Flight Lieutenant S Rupachandra would be played on ‘Quick March’ while the IAF contingent marches past the Hon’ble President. The Band would also play other martial tunes like Astronaut, Vijay Bharat, Space Flight, Vayu Shakti, Benihal, Saare Jahaan Se Achha, Northern Border, Tiger Hill and Nidar Yodha.