NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 -- The upcoming Republic Day parade on January 26 will unfold in a new phased battle array format to showcase the military's wide-ranging capabilities, with weapons and systems including infantry elements, tanks, artillery systems, missiles and airpower being displayed in a sequence that shows how they are used in a combat scenario, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday. The new format comes in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, the four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan in early May following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. The 77th Republic Day parade will also bear an imprint of the ongoing restructuring in the army --- Singh said the recently-raised Bhairav light commando units and Shaktibaan artillery elements specialising in drone warfare will make their debut in the country's biggest ceremonial event that will be witnessed by 77,000 people along Kartavya Path and watched by millions on television. The attempt is to make the 90-minute parade more interesting for the viewers as the earlier parades were quite stereotyped, Singh said at a media briefing. "Given the general excitement about Operation Sindoor, the intent is to show the operational elements and weave a story of how a battle progresses from the phase of recce and logistics to the subsequent use of long-range systems, and thereafter to back-up logistics and the integration of air power," the defence secretary said. India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) before the May 10 ceasefire. The clash involved fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and a fierce artillery duel. "The idea is to weave a story of how equipment and manpower actually get used in a battle to make it a bit more interesting. It is perhaps a bit linked to Operation Sindoor, but primarily the intent is to make it more interesting and weave a storyline rather than a stereotypical kind of parade," Singh said. Air elements will also be displayed as part of the phased battle array format, he said. This means the flypast will not be carried out at the end of the parade like it has been in the previous years --- it will align with the Indian Air Force's role in the battle order. The Republic Day flypast will feature several platforms including Rafales, Sukhoi-30s, MiG-29s, Apache attack helicopters, C-130J special operations aircraft, P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft, C-295 transport planes, Mi-17 choppers, advanced light helicopter and light combat helicopter. A naval contingent of the European Union (EU) will also take part in the parade, Singh said. European Union (EU) leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa will be the chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations....