President Murmu becomes first Indian head of state to fly in Rafale jet
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Ambala: President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday became the first Indian President to undertake a sortie in a Rafale fighter aircraft, flying from the Air Force Station in Ambala, Haryana.
The Rafale jets, inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2020, were notably deployed during Operation Sindoor, India’s targeted response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
This marks President Murmu’s second experience aboard a fighter jet. On 8 April 2023, she became the third Indian President and second woman head of state to fly in a Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft at Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam, reported The Indian Express. Her predecessors, A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, had earlier flown in Sukhoi jets from Lohegaon Air Force Station in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
Manufactured by French aerospace firm Dassault Aviation, Rafale aircraft arrived in India on 27 July 2020 and were formally inducted at Ambala in September that year.
As Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, President Murmu’s sortie underscores her symbolic role in military affairs and highlights the operational capabilities of the IAF’s frontline fighter fleet.