Kochi: President Droupadi Murmu on flew in the French fighter Rafale from Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana Wednesday.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, and many senior officials were present. Supreme commander of armed forces, President Murmu had flown in a fighter jet Sukhoi from Tejpur in Assam on April 8, 2023.
Murmu became the third President and the second woman and head of state to fly a fighter jet.
Earlier, Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had also flown in the Sukhoi-30 MKI.
The Rafale was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force at Ambala Air Force Station in September 2020.
The first five Rafale aircraft, which arrived from France on July 27, 2020, were inducted into the 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’.
The Rafale demonstrated its capabilities in ‘Operation Sindoor’, where several terrorist hideouts in Pakistan-controlled areas were successfully destroyed on May 7.
Photo: X
