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Sarang helicopters rehearse over the Ganga for IAF's Varanasi air show
The Air Force's five-helicopter display team practised at Namo Ghat ahead of a 25 October show marking the IAF's 94th anniversary.
Key points
- The IAF's Sarang team rehearsed at Namo Ghat in Varanasi on Wednesday.
- The Air Force Day Aerial Display, themed Wings Over Ganges, is on 25 October.
- Rafale, Su-30MKI, Tejas and the LCH Prachand are among the aircraft due to fly.
The Indian Air Force’s Sarang helicopter display team was in the air over the Ganga at Varanasi on Wednesday, rehearsing for an aerial display at Namo Ghat on Sunday, 25 October, to mark the force’s 94th anniversary.
The Air Force Day Aerial Display 2026 carries the theme “Wings Over Ganges”. Alongside Sarang, the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team will perform, and the line-up includes the Tejas fighter, the Light Combat Helicopter Prachand, Su-30MKI and Rafale jets, and IL-76, IL-78, C-295 and AN-32 transport and tanker aircraft. Aircraft from the Navy and the Army are also due to take part.
Squadron Leader Ankita Singh, a Sarang pilot, said the team’s five-helicopter formation set it apart. “We are the sole 5-helicopter display team of the Indian Air Force, not just here, but across Asia,” she said.
The team flies the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv. “We fly the Indian-made helicopter ALH Dhruv, built by HAL,” she said, before the formation took off for its practice run over the ghat.