NEW DELHI: Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, President Droupadi Murmu, will be taking a sortie in an Indian Air Force combat fighter on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhawan said: "The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, will visit Ambala, Haryana, on October 29, where she will take a Sortie in Rafale. Earlier on April 8, 2023, the President took a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur IAF station, Assam."
She will be the first President to fly in IAF’s most modern Rafale fighter aircraft. Droupadi Murmu has already flown in a Sukhoi-30MKI in 2023
President Murmu was scheduled to visit Ambala on October 18, but had to postpone her visit due to unknown reasons.
It will be her maiden visit to one of the oldest Indian Air Force stations, which houses one of the Squadrons of the French-built fighter aircraft Rafale. The Rafale jet is considered a 4.5 generation fighter aircraft and is armed with unmatched weapon systems and sensors with multi-role capability.
As earlier reported by TNIE, besides jamming enemy radars, the Rafale has the capability to strike enemy targets from an unchallenged standoff range of more than 300 km.
The Rafale jets are loaded with India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low-band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and tracking systems, among others.
The earlier sortie of President Murmu in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft was at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam on April 8, 2023. The President was airborne for around 30 minutes, flying over Brahmaputra and Tezpur valley with the mighty Himalayas on one side.
President Murmu is the third President and the second woman President to undertake such a sortie. Prior to her, former Presidents like Pratibha Patil and APJ Abdul Kalam had also flown in the fighter jet.