Republic Day 2022: 1,000 ‘Make in India’ drones to light up sky at Beating Retreat; what you need to know

India will end its Republic Day celebrations on 29 January with the Beating Retreat ceremony at New Delhi. The Beating Retreat ceremony marks a centuries-old military tradition, dating back to the days when troops disengaged from a battle at sunset. As soon as the buglers sounded the “retreat”, the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield. This year, the ceremony — which was in the news recently — will feature a spectacular laser show as well as a mesmerising drone show. Here’s all you need to know about this show and why it will be an unforgettable view. ‘Made in India’ drones According to officials, viewers will witness a show of nearly 1,000 drones on 29 January at Vijay Chowk. This is the first time that the Beating Retreat ceremony will have a laser show and a drone show with background music. Moreover, for the first time, on the parapet of the north block and the south block, there will be a laser projection mapping show to commemorate 75 years of independence.

The drone show is courtesy Botlab, a startup from IIT-Delhi.

Botlab in association with the defence ministry conceptualised the novel drone show to commemorate the 75th year of Independence. The drone show will be 10 minutes long in duration and will showcase government achievements through many creative formations in the dark sky. [caption id=“attachment_10325661” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Dozens of drones display “75th Anniversary of Indian Independence’ on the eve of Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. AP[/caption] The project has been developed indigenously within the country, developing all the necessary components, including both hardware and software such as the flight controller (brain of the drone); precision GPS; motor controller; Ground Control Station (GCS) algorithms etc. India will be the fourth country to conduct a drone show of this size that has been designed and conceptualised indigenously. China, Russia and the United States are the three other countries that can put up a drone show of this size. Rehearsals of the ceremony showed the drones forming the words ‘75 Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in saffron, white, and green, an initiative that was started in 2021 to commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history.

#WATCH Drone formations at Vijay Chowk in Delhi on #RepublicDay pic.twitter.com/OGNAenlES3

— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2022

The drones were also seen to create complex formations like the Make In India symbol and a silhouette of Mahatma Gandhi. Reactions to drone show The show has already evoked reactions from various corners, with Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia tweeting in appreciation of the synchronised drone presentation.

Spectacular display of India’s drone potential! 🇮🇳 🇮🇳 https://t.co/rXZWXDwzzF

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 25, 2022

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Other netizens also chimed in praising the show.

Just WoW 😮😮😮 https://t.co/tAPnM01R4e

— Ankur Kacker 🇮🇳 अंकुर कक्कड़ 🇮🇳 ಅಂಕುರ್ ಕಕ್ಕಡ್ (@ankurkacker) January 27, 2022

Ye mera #India, I LOVE MY INDIA 🇮🇳 https://t.co/nf1EW9F0Xm

— Harsha (@HarshaBorntoWin) January 26, 2022

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This is so cool! Unlike the Chinese drones that kept on falling like their standards. #RepublicDay https://t.co/CWwGf3QVY1

— Siddhant Tyagi (@SidhantTyagi) January 26, 2022

With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.