New Delhi, Oct. 29 – President Droupadi Murmu, the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, became the first President to take a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet at Air Force Station in Haryana’s Ambala.

President Murmu was formally given a guard of honour before her Rafale sortie. Shortly before the aircraft took off at 11.27 am, President Murmu posed for pictures, holding a helmet in her hand and wearing sunglasses. She waved from inside the jet just ahead of starting her flight.

Indian Air Force Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh also flew in another aircraft. Group Captain Amit Gehani was the pilot of the aircraft carrying the President. He is also the Commanding Officer (CO) of Indian Air Force’s No. 17 Squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’.

However, this was not her first stint with fighter jets. On April 8, 2023, Murmu became the third President and second woman Head of State to take a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.

Former Presidents Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had undertaken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force Station, Lohegaon, on June 8, 2006 and Nov. 25, 2009, respectively.

Rafale jets were used in India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’, which was launched on May 7 to destroy several terror infrastructures in territories controlled by Pakistan.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes between India and Pakistan, which ended on May 10.

Manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, Rafale fighter aircraft were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at the Air Force Station, Ambala. The first five Rafale aircraft, which had arrived from France on July 27, 2020, were inducted into 17 Squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’.