President Droupadi Murmu took a sortie in a Rafale aircraft at Air Force Station, Ambala, Haryana.
Credit: / @rashtrapatibhvn
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday made history as she became the first Supreme Commander to have flown in two different IAF fighter aircraft when she took a sortie in a Rafale jet at Ambala Air Force station and described the experience as an “unforgettable one.”
On touchdown the President also posed for a picture with Indian Air Force’s first woman Rafale pilot Wing Commander Shivangi Singh, putting at rest a Pakistani propaganda of capturing her during Operation Sindoor.
Donning a G-suit and aviator glasses, she flew for about 30 minutes, covering a distance of 200 km. The aircraft reached a height of about 15,000 feet above sea level and a speed of approximately 700 kilometres per hour, said an official statement.
The aircraft was flown by Group Captain Amit Gehani, Commanding Officer of the 17 Squadron, one of the two IAF units flying the French-origin jets. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh also flew in a separate aircraft.
Later while signing the visitor’s book, President Murmu wrote, "The sortie on Rafale is an unforgettable experience for me. This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation's defence capabilities.”
This was the second fighter jet sortie for President Murmu after her April, 2023 flight in a Su-30MKI aircraft at Tezpur Air Force station.
She followed the footsteps of former Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, who had undertaken sorties in Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft at Pune in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
Manufactured by French major Dassault Aviation, Rafale aircraft were inducted into the IAF in September 2020 at Ambala. The second Rafale squadron is based in Hasimara.
The Rafale jets were used in the four-day long conflict with Pakistan in May when Indian forces first neutralised nine specific terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and later struck at some of the Pakistani military units including airfields, runways, hangars, radar units and missile sites, besides shooting down enemy fighter jets.