The Indian Air Force has chosen the occasion of the nation’s 77th Republic Day to send a calibrated but unmistakably firm strategic message. In a rare move, the force released a curated video package of frontline fighter aircraft carrying fully loaded weapon configurations, explicitly mirroring the ordnance reportedly employed during the February 2019 Balakot air strikes and the more recent Operation Sindoor.

By doing so, the IAF has effectively confronted years of scepticism, disinformation and speculation surrounding the actual capabilities and loadouts of its combat fleet during these deep-strike missions.

For decades, fly-pasts and formation manoeuvres by fighter aircraft have been a centrepiece of the Republic Day parade. However, these have typically focused on aerobatics, formations and platforms rather than on specific weapons or operational configurations. This year’s visual narrative was notably different.

The IAF went beyond traditional pageantry to showcase combat aircraft armed as they would be in a real conflict scenario. The deliberate decision to highlight previously unseen or rarely publicised weapon fits is a signal both to domestic audiences and to adversaries that India’s airpower is modern, credible and fully mission-ready.

A key highlight of the video was the prominent display of the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile on the Rafale fleet. The Meteor, acquired as part of India’s Rafale package, is widely regarded as one of the most advanced BVRAAMs in service globally, offering a very long engagement range and a no-escape zone that complicates an adversary’s air combat calculus.

Its presence on the Rafale’s hardpoints was intended not just as a technical showcase but as a direct rebuttal to claims that India did not possess or deploy this missile at the time of heightened tensions with Pakistan.

Adding further weight to this message, the video included a clip of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft TEJAS firing the Meteor. While the Rafale is the primary Meteor carrier in IAF service, the depiction of Tejas engaging a target with the missile underscored the broader integration efforts and the growing sophistication of India’s fighter ecosystem.

It suggests ongoing or planned capability expansion, where even indigenous platforms are being paired, for trials or future upgrades, with some of the most advanced munitions in the IAF’s inventory or prospective inventory.

The Mirage-2000, the workhorse platform used in the Balakot strike, was also shown in a fully armed configuration, reportedly carrying the same family of precision weapons that were employed during that operation.

This visual confirmation directly addresses persistent allegations that the IAF either exaggerated the nature of its strike package or did not use sophisticated munitions as claimed. By quietly displaying these weapons on the platform most closely associated with Balakot, the IAF has reinforced its original statements on the conduct and sophistication of that mission, without resorting to rhetorical or political argument.

Equally significant was the appearance of the Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile on the Sukhoi-30MKI. Astra, developed indigenously, represents India’s drive towards self-reliance in advanced missile technology.

Although the missile’s existence and trials have been known for years, footage of operational Su-30MKIs carrying Astra in a frontline configuration is rare. Showing the missile on this platform indicates that Astra has moved firmly from the test and development phase into mainstream operational service, substantially enhancing the IAF’s air combat envelope with an indigenous solution.

In a noteworthy development, Astra was also seen mounted on the Jaguar, a platform primarily known as a deep-strike and maritime strike aircraft. Jaguars have traditionally focused on ground attack roles rather than air combat.

The integration of a modern BVRAAM onto this legacy platform signals an extensive upgrade effort, broadening its self-defence and limited air-to-air engagement capabilities. This reflects a wider trend within the IAF to squeeze maximum capability out of legacy platforms through electronics, avionics and weapons modernisation, thus extending their relevance in a contested airspace environment.

The video further showcased a Sukhoi-30MKI carrying the BrahMos air-launched cruise missile under its fuselage, a capability that has long been recognised but rarely depicted in operational footage. The Su-30MKI–BrahMos combination gives the IAF a potent long-range precision strike option against high-value land and maritime targets, far beyond India’s borders.

Publicly highlighting this pairing serves as a reminder of India’s stand-off strike capability and the capacity to impose costs at significant range without exposing aircraft to dense enemy air defences.

Rafale aircraft were also shown carrying Hammer stand-off precision-guided munitions alongside Meteor missiles. The Hammer, used for accurate strikes against hardened or strategic targets from outside the reach of many air defence systems, adds another layer to the Rafale’s multirole profile. Presenting the Rafale configured simultaneously for air superiority and precision ground attack reinforces its role as a swing-role fighter capable of rapidly shifting between missions within the same sortie.

Another notable element of the IAF’s visual communication was the inclusion of the Rampage air-to-surface missile on the Su-30MKI. Rampage is a stand-off, precision-guided weapon designed to engage targets such as infrastructure, air defence sites and strategic nodes with high accuracy from long range. The IAF had reportedly employed Rampage during Operation Sindoor, and its depiction on Su-30MKIs confirms the missile’s operational integration. This revelation underlines that the IAF’s strike options are not limited to a single type of stand-off weapon but are part of a layered and diversified arsenal.

The release is especially striking when seen against the IAF’s traditional reticence about publicising live, operational weapon configurations. Historically, the service has preferred to keep such details opaque, citing operational security. That it has now chosen to reveal a curated slice of its arsenal suggests a deliberate strategic communication decision. The message is not just about technology, but about credibility: that when the IAF states what it has used or can use in combat, those claims rest on verifiable capabilities.

In the regional context, these visuals serve as a deterrent signal. The confirmation, even implicitly, that platforms like Rafale, Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000, TEJAS and Jaguar can carry a spectrum of advanced air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons complicates adversary planning.

Any future crisis would require potential opponents to account for long-range air-to-air engagements, deep stand-off strikes, and the use of highly accurate munitions against critical assets, all backed by a fleet that has recent combat experience.

The IAF’s Republic Day video is a carefully calibrated blend of transparency and strategic signalling. It avoids overt triumphalism, instead allowing imagery of loaded pylons and live weapon carriage to speak for itself.

At the same time, it quietly closes the loop on years of debate about Balakot and Operation Sindoor, reinforcing the narrative that India’s air strikes were conducted with precision, planning and advanced weaponry. For sceptics, the message was subtle in tone but unmistakably loud in content: the IAF has both the tools and the will to employ them when national security demands it.

Based On NDTV Report