President Droupadi Murmu took her maiden sortie in an Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam on Saturday.
Murmu is the third President and second woman President to undertake such a sortie.
The sortie by the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, is part of her “efforts to engage with the armed forces, an official statement said.
In March 2023, Murmu visited INS Vikrant and interacted with officers and sailors on board the indigenously built aircraft.
The Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft was flown by Group Captain Naveen Kumar, Commanding Officer of the 106 Squadron, at a height of about 2km above sea level and at a speed of about 800km per hour, “covering the Brahmaputra valley with a view of Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station”.
The Tezpur air force station is the biggest and the strategically nearest to the China border.
The Sukhoi 30 MKI is twin-seater, multi-role, longrange fighter/bomber aircraft, according to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has jointly developed the aircraft with the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
Before Murmu, former President Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet from the Pune air force base in 2009. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam held the distinction of being the first President to fly in a fighter plane in 2006.
The official Twitter handle of the Rashtrapati Bhavan posted several pictures of the President, including one each in flying gear, waving to those present before getting into the cockpit and while getting down from the aircraft.
The President was also briefed on the operational capabilities of the aircraft and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Later in the visitor’s book, the President expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said: “It was an exhilarating experience for me to fly in the mighty Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. It is a matter of pride that India’s defence capabilities have expanded immensely to cover all the frontiers of land, air and sea. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station Tezpur for organising this sortie.”
Murmu, supreme commander of the Indian Armed forces, waves after taking the sortie on the IAF’s fighter aircraft. PTI picture
On Friday, Murmu launched a mobile app – Bhoroxa — developed by the Gauhati High Court’s ICT team for the safety of women and elderly people. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud also graced the event.
Attending the event here to mark Gauhati High Court’s 75 years, Murmu urged young lawyers and law students to find technological solutions in the legal domain that can provide a helping hand to the poor and the needy.
Before the launch of the app, Murmu had flagged off the Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition 2023 organised by Assam Mountaineering Association in Guwahati. The seven-member expedition team is led by Manash Barooah.
On Thursday, Murmu inaugurated the Gaj Utsav at the Kaziranga National Park to mark 30 years of Project Elephant, launched in 1992 for the protection and conservation of wild elephants.
