Published: January 26, 2026 12:35 pm
Author: RT
The Russian S-400 air defense system was on display for the first time at the annual festivities
India has commemorated its 77th Republic Day with a grand parade in the capital, New Delhi, showcasing the South Asian nation’s military prowess. India’s Russian-made S-400 air defense system made its first public appearance in the country, along with T-90 tanks and Brahmos missiles.
India also unveiled its hypersonic long-range anti-ship missile (LRAShM), which it boasts of having a range exceeding 1,500 km and a speed of Mach 10.
President Droupadi Murmu and two distinguished guests – European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – arrived in a traditional buggy, escorted by the President’s Bodyguard, the highest-ranking regiment of the Indian Army.
To commemorate the Republic Day, the stretch of the parade route between Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, and the National War Memorial was elaborately decorated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his respects at the parade’s destination.
Modi said in a post on X that the collective resolve to build a developed nation grows even stronger on the occasion, which commemorates the day the country’s constitution came into effect in 1950.
📹🇮🇳 PM Narendra Modi pays tribute at the National War Memorial on Republic Day.
He lays a wreath to honour India’s fallen soldiers. pic.twitter.com/0sNXJRjVXm
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) January 26, 2026
“Republic Day, a symbol of India’s honor, pride and dignity, should infuse new energy and renewed enthusiasm in the lives of all citizens,” he said in an X post.
Modi has praised the prowess of the country’s S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems. “Platforms like the S-400 have given unprecedented strength to the country,” Modi said in an address to the troops after Operation Sindoor in May, 2025.
Last year’s military conflict with Pakistan saw the effective use of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system acquired in 2016 from Russia, in defiance of a US threat to impose sanctions on the S400.
Helicopters showered flower petals as a hundred artists performed a grand musical presentation centred on the theme of ‘unity in diversity.’
A camel contingent, an Operation Sindoor formation comprising two Sukhois and two MiG 29s, two Rafales, one IAF Jaguar Fighter aircraft, UAVs, and an animal squad were the other attractions of the parade.
