President Droupadi Murmu reviewed the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) of the 211th course with full Military splendour at Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal near Hyderabad on Saturday. Speaking at the event Murmu said, “I am glad that the Indian Air Force is now inducting women officers in all roles and branches. There is a substantial number of women fighter pilots which is bound to increase”.
At the event, Murmu also recalled how she flew a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tejpur Air Force station in Assam. “In April 2023, I flew a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tejpur Air Force station in Assam. I flew for nearly 30 minutes covering Brahmaputra and Tejpur valleys with a great view of the Himalayas before returning to the Air Force station. It was indeed a great experience to fly at a height of about 2 km above sea level at a speed of about 800 km/hour," she said.
However, Murmu is not the first president to make a sortie in a fighter aircraft. In 2009, former president Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet from the Pune air force base.
{{/usCountry}}However, Murmu is not the first president to make a sortie in a fighter aircraft. In 2009, former president Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet from the Pune air force base.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, this is the first occasion of AFA when the president acted as the reviewing officer of the CGP, AFA officials say. CGP marks the successful completion of the pre-commissioning training of flight cadets of various branches of the Indian Air Force.
The parade will be followed by an aerobatic display by Pilatus PC-7 trainer aircraft, a fly-past by the formation of PC-7, an aerobatic show by Su-30, and other aerobatic displays by the helicopter display teams, the AFA release states.