Guwahati: India’s President Droupadi Murmu took a historic sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam on Saturday.
The President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew for approximately 30 minutes covering Brahmaputra and Tezpur valley with a view of the Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station.
“Achcha laga (felt good),” President Murmu told reporters after completing her 25-minute sortie.
She is now the third President and second woman President to undertake such a sortie.
As the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, the President, who is on a three-day visit to Assam, flew for approximately 30 minutes covering the Brahmaputra and Tezpur Valley with a view of Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station.
An official statement mentioned that the aircraft was flown by Group Captain Naveen Kumar, Commanding Officer of the 106 Squadron.
The aircraft flew at a height of about 2 kilometers above sea level and at a speed of about 800km per hour.
Later in the visitor’s book, she expressed her feelings by writing a brief note.
She wrote: “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.”
The President was also briefed on the operational capabilities of the aircraft and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
She expressed satisfaction on the operational preparedness of the IAF.
The President’s sortie in the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft is a part of her efforts to engage with the armed forces, as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, the statement added.
n 2009, former president Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline fighter aircraft.
The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a twin-seater multirole fighter jet developed by Russia’s Sukhoi and built under licence by India’s aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
