Fighter jets streaked through the sky and long lines of military vehicles thundered through the streets of the Polish capital in a show of military might amid Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, news outlets reported.
Among the hardware on show were "M1A1 Abrams tanks bought from the United States, K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers purchased from South Korea, HIMARS rocket launchers, Krab self-propelled cannon howitzers, Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drones, and Patriot air defense sets," according to the Polish defence ministry.
Polish-made equipment included "Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, Rosomak armored personnel carriers and Rak self-propelled mortars, as well as Baobab-K mine-laying vehicles and Żmija light reconnaissance vehicles," the Polish defence ministry said.
Photos: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Meanwhile, FA-50 and F-16 fighter jets and other aircraft roared overhead in a flypast, according to officials.
More than 90 aircraft roared overhead in a flypast. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Troops from other NATO countries joined the parade, among them American, British, Romanian and Croatian units stationed in Poland to help strengthen the Western military alliance’s eastern flank.
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The parade, entitled #SilnaBiałoCzerwona, was followed by a military picnic at which people could get inside some of the vehicles and inspect a variety of army hardware, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Krzysztof Świeżak/Polish Radio
President Andrzej Duda speaks during the military parade in the Polish capital on Tuesday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The August 15 celebration marks Poland’s landmark victory against the Russian Bolsheviks in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski defeated an advancing Red Army.
The day was first celebrated as a holiday from 1923 to 1947, and then restored as Armed Forces Day in 1992 after decades of Soviet-imposed communism.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info