NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu took a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet at the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala, Haryana, on Thursday. Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh was also at the Air Force Station.President Murmu was formally given a guard of honour prior to her Rafale sortie.
Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation and formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at Ambala, played a key role in Operation Sindoor. This was President Murmu’s second flight in a combat aircraft, following her 2023 sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI at Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam. Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled territories and led to four days of intense clashes, concluding with an agreement to halt military actions on May 10, at the request of the Pakistani DGMO.The Rashtrapati Bhavan had confirmed the development on Tuesday, describing it as part of the President’s engagement with India’s defence forces.”The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, will visit Ambala, Haryana tomorrow where she will take a sortie in Rafale,” a statement issued on Tuesday by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.Former Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had previously flown sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft at Lohegaon Air Force Station in 2006 and 2009, respectively.This is a developing story. Details to follow…
