Droupadi Murmu becomes first Indian president to fly in both Rafale & Sukhoi
The president undertook a Rafale sortie from Ambala highlighting India’s air power and defence capabilities.
President Droupadi Murmu poses with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh at Air Force Station, Ambala, Haryana (Photo - @rashtrapatibhvn / X)
Guwahati, Oct 29: President Droupadi Murmu, on Wednesday, etched her name in history by becoming the first President of India to take sorties in two frontline fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
She completed a high-profile sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Air Force Station in Ambala, Haryana creating a landmark moment in her role as the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh also participated in the operation, flying in a separate aircraft from the same base. Before boarding the Rafale, the President donned a G-suit, carrying her flight helmet and wearing sunglasses as she posed for photographs alongside her pilot.
She waved confidently from inside the cockpit just minutes before the aircraft took off at 11:27 am.
President Murmu was earlier presented with a ceremonial guard of honour upon her arrival at the airbase.
This prestigious flight comes over a year after her maiden sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI from Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam in April 2023.
With this second flight, she has achieved a distinction no other Indian President has by taking sorties in both the Rafale and the Sukhoi-30 MKI, two of the nation’s most powerful fighter jets.
Former presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had undertaken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force Station, Lohegaon near Pune on June 8, 2006 and November 25, 2009, respectively.
Describing the experience, President Murmu said the Rafale sortie was “unforgettable” and filled her with immense pride in India’s growing defence capabilities.
“This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation's defence capabilities. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station, Ambala for organising this sortie successfully,” the official president's handle shared on microblogging site.
Manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF in September 2020, with the first batch joining the 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ in Ambala.
They have since enhanced India’s combat readiness and were notably deployed during Operation Sindoor, aimed at neutralising terror infrastructure across the border.
PTI