Daijiworld Media Network - Ambala

Ambala, Oct 29: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday took off from the Ambala Air Force Base in Haryana for a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet, marking her first flight in India’s most advanced combat aircraft.

This is the second time the President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has flown in a fighter jet. Earlier, on April 8, 2023, Murmu flew in a Sukhoi-30 MKI from Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam, becoming the third Indian President and the second woman head of state to undertake such a flight.

Before her, former Presidents Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had flown in the Sukhoi-30 MKI from Lohegaon near Pune.

Murmu’s Rafale sortie comes five months after Rafales from the same base were deployed under Operation Sindoor to strike terror camps across the border following the Pahalgam attack, sending a strong anti-terror message.

This marks the first time an Indian President has flown in a Rafale — the French-made fighter inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2020. The aircraft form part of the 17 Squadron, famously known as the ‘Golden Arrows’, based at Ambala.