For the third year in a row, India did not display any of its nuclear missiles in the Republic Day parade. In 2013, the country had last displayed the inter-continental ballistic missile Agni V during the Republic Day parade when the chief guest was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
However, in 2014, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the chief guest no ballistic missiles were displayed during the parade. India at that time was negotiating a civil nuclear deal with Japan, the only country to have suffered an atom bomb attack.
The nuclear missiles were also missing during the Republic Day Parade last year when US President Barack Obama was the chief guest.
Asked why the ballistic missiles were not being displayed, chief of staff Delhi area of the Indian Army, Major General Rajesh Sahai, said that deterrence is not about showcasing everything that the country has.
However, he added that some items could come back next year as the displays are selected on a rotational basis. The Army, which has been talking about the Make in India initiative, chose to display Russian T-90 tanks instead of the indigenous Arjun tanks developed by the DRDO. The Army displayed infantry combat vehicle BMP II (Sarath), mobile autonomous launcher of the BrahMos missile system, Akash weapon system, Smerch launcher vehicles and integrated communication electronic warfare system.
The Navy displayed flight deck operations on the new aircraft carrier Vikrant, under construction at the Kochi shipyard, and the indigenously constructed submarine Kalvari by Mazagaon Dock, having Made in India tag on them. Among the fighters displayed by the IAF, there were five Anglo-French Jaguars.
