The United States is to mark the army’s 250th anniversary with a military parade through the streets of Washington DC today, coinciding with the president’s birthday.

The brainchild of Donald Trump, who was reportedly inspired by a 2017 Bastille Day procession in Paris, the affair will feature more than 6,000 soldiers dressed in uniforms ranging from the Revolutionary War up to the present day

A flyover of F-22s, the most advanced fighter jets in the world, is scheduled, while dozens of Chinook, Apache and Black Hawk helicopters will also take to the skies.

A B-25 bomber is also expected to soar above the crowds, while armoured vehicles, including 60-ton Abrams tanks, will roll through the streets of Washington DC, in what was expected to be the largest military parade in the city since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991.

Mr Trump warned that any protesters assembling during the ceremony would be met with “very big force”. Protest organisers, wary of provoking clashes with law enforcement, plan demonstrations in every major city except the capital.

No Kings, a collection of protest groups, is planning a series of protests around the country to coincide with the parade, protesting against what it claims is Mr Trump’s monarchical ambitions.

The procession comes after a week of riots in LA, which saw Mr Trump overrule California governor Gavin Newsom to bring in the National Guard and the Marines to police the unrest.