President Droupadi Murmu takes sortie in Rafale Jet at Ambala's Air Force station | Watch

President Droupadi Murmu, the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, earlier took a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI in April 2023.

Published on: Oct 29, 2025, 11:25:39 IST

By HT News Desk

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President Droupadi Mumru on Wednesday took a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet at the Air Force Station in Haryana's Ambala.

President Droupadi Murmu was seen dressed up in uniform, carrying a helmet ahead of the sortie. (X/ANI)

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh was among others present at the Air Force station on the occasion.

The President's sortie in a Rafale jet gains significance against the backdrop of the aircraft's use during Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces' operation launched against terror infrastructure in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

President Murmu was seen dressed up in uniform, carrying a helmet ahead of the sortie.

WATCH: President takes off for sortie in IAF Rafale

Murmu, the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, became the third President and second woman head of state to take a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at Assam's Tezpur Air Force Station on April 8, 2023.

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had also taken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force station in Lohegaon, near Pune, in June 2006, and November 2009, respectively.

About Rafale jets

Rafale fighter jets are manufactured by the France-based aerospace firm Dassault Aviation, and were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at the Ambala Air Force station.

The first batch of five Rafale aircraft, which arrived in India from France on July 27, 2020, was inducted into the 17 Squadron, the 'Golden Arrows'.

The Rafale was the first imported fighter jet to be inducted into the IAF in 22 years after the Russian Sukhoi-30 fighters, the first of which entered the IAF service in June 1997.

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HT News Desk
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