As part of its 93rd anniversary celebrations, the Indian Air Force (IAF) sent out 75 aircraft, including helicopters and fighter jets like the Sukhoi Su-30 and Rafale, for its first air display in the northeast on Sunday. The simultaneous manoeuvres of the Sarang helicopter display team and Surya Kiran aerobatics brought the event to a close.
The IAF has been attempting to conduct such an air show in the northeast for a while, according to Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. In order to accommodate the IAF anniversary celebrations, he continued, the IAF moved its scheduled dates from October to November in order to host it in the northeast. He remarked, "I am amazed at the full support of the people and the local administration."

Lakshman Prasad Acharya, the governor of Assam, was the event's main guest. Attendees included Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and other senior IAF officials.
Sarma stated that the northeast has advanced significantly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, citing the message of aerial superiority. "The North East came a long way under the visionary leadership of Adarniya Narendra Modiji, from being nearly abandoned during the 1962 war to sending such a powerful message of aerial dominance," Sarma stated on X, seemingly alluding to then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's statement that his "heart goes out" for the people of Assam during the 1962 war with China.

Some saw the remark as the Union administration leaving the area as Chinese soldiers advanced on the state.
Sarma claimed that adversaries both inside and outside the nation will have restless nights as a result of the air show. "The North East's first-ever air show was a truly amazing display of power, talent, and determination. Sarma stated on X, "Your overwhelming support for Bharat's Air Warriors, so close to the Chicken Neck and four international borders, will give enemies inside and outside the country sleepless nights."
A slender 22-kilometer land tract in West Bengal that links the northeast with the rest of India is called the Siliguri Corridor, or Chicken's Neck. It is situated between Bangladesh in the south and Nepal in the north.

The air show took place in the midst of a thawing of ties between Dhaka and Islamabad following the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina administration in Bangladesh in 2024 and an improvement in military-to-military interactions.
Since then, the political and security establishments of Bangladesh and Pakistan have engaged in a number of high-level exchanges. Relations between Bangladesh and India have deteriorated at the same time.
Hasina, who has been living in self-exile in India since 2024, was overthrown by a caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.