Republic Day 2019: India's military might on display at Rajpath

New Delhi, Jan 26: From Vajra artelliery guns to Bhishma Tanks, India's military might was on full display at Rajpath during the Republic Day parade on Saturday. Contingents of soldiers marched down Rajpath followed by India's formidable defence arsenal which included tanks, missiles, infantry vehicles and artillery guns. A host of the country's air defence capabilities were showcased during the Republic Day celebrations.

K-9 VAJRA at the parade

The ultra-lightweight, highly portable M777 Howitzer and self-propelled K9 Vajra artillery guns were displayed at the Republic Day parade for the first time. The guns will help the Indian Army target the enemy even in hilly regions and can be transported using helicopters as well. They will mostly be used by India's first mountain strike corp in combat-like situations.

Akash missiles at Rajpath

Akash missile system is an indigenously developed supersonic short-range surface-to-air missile system with the capability to engage a wide variety of aerial threats like aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles up to a maximum range of 25 km and up to an altitude of 20 km.

T-90 'Bhishma' tanks

The T-90M Bhishma is a vehicle tailored for Indian service, improving upon the T-90S, and developed with assistance from Russia and France. The tanks are equipped with the French Thales-built Catherine-FC thermal sights, and utilise Russian Kontakt-5 K-5 explosive reactive armoured plates.

Indian Army's Sarath IFVs

Indian Army's Sarath IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) were on display at Rajpath during the Republic Day parade 2019. The Sarath is identical to the BMP-2 covered in detail in a separate entry and is fitted with a two-person turret. It is armed with a 30 mm 2A42 dual-feed cannon, a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun and a roof-mounted Russian Tula 9K113 Konkurs (NATO AT-5 'Spandrel') ATGW launcher with a maximum range of 4,000 m. This missile is manufactured in India by BDL (Bharat Dynamics Limited).