The 77th Republic Day Parade in 2026 was a landmark event, marking the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and showcasing a strong focus on modernisation, however, several iconic platforms were notably absent from the parade at Kartavya Path.
The most prominent absence in the 2026 flypast was the indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Last year in November, an Indian Air Force Tejas crashed at the Dubai Airshow resulting in the death of the pilot.
While legacy variants like the Agni-II and Agni-III were omitted, the spotlight shifted to the debut of the Long-Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile (LR-AShM). Capable of Mach 10 speeds, this “modern-day Brahmastra” effectively replaced the standard ballistic missile displays.
Similarly, the traditional massed columns of Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers were not seen. In their place, the army debuted the “Suryastra” Universal Rocket Launcher System. With a deep-strike range of 300 km, the Suryastra represented the new centrepiece of India’s “Rocket Force” doctrine, rendering older, shorter-range rocket variants surplus to the parade’s narrative of long-range precision.
In the ground columns, the traditional long lines of identical tanks were replaced by a “Battle Array” that depicted the sequence of a modern campaign.
Consequently, legacy armour like the T-72 “Ajeya” was omitted to make room for a more diverse mix of T-90 “Bhishma” tanks and the MBT Arjun, integrated with robotic dogs and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs).
The marching contingents also saw notable rotations. Legendary units like the Gorkha Rifles and the Madras Regiment were omitted this year to allow for the debut of the “Bhairav” Light Commando Battalion. This newly raised elite unit, specialising in rapid-deployment light combat, was showcased as the future of Indian infantry, bridging the gap between conventional forces and specialised commandos.
Beyond military hardware, the 2026 parade saw the omission of 11 states and Union Territories under the Ministry of Defence’s three-year rotation policy.
Most notably, Karnataka, which had proposed a high-tech tableau themed “Millets to Microchips”, was excluded for the second time in three years, alongside Delhi and Telangana.
This policy aims to ensure that every state participates at least once by 2027, but it continues to spark debate over the exclusion of major cultural hubs.
