E-Paper
President Droupadi Murmu flies maiden sortie in Sukhoi-30. Watch
President Droupadi Murmu became the second female head of state to fly in a warplane by taking a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday flew a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam. Videos shared by news agency ANI, showed Murmu taking her maiden sortie on the fighter jet, becoming the second woman president to fly in a warplane.
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 Himalayas before returning to the air force station, the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
Murmu is on a three-day visit to Assam from April 6 to 8 and was accorded Guard of Honour upon arrival at the Tezpur Air Force Station.
Also read | President Murmu's 2nd day in Assam: A jeep safari in Kaziranga and more
Elaborating on the 'exhilarating' experience, Murmu wrote in the visitor’s book, "It is a matter of pride that India's defence capabilities have expanded immensely to cover all the frontiers of land, air and sea.” At a height of about two kms above sea level and 800 kms speed per hour, the ‘fighter jet was flown by Group Capt Naveen Kumar, CO of 106 Squadron’, the President's official Twitter handle wrote.
Although Murmu is not the first President to make a sortie in a fighter aircraft, Tezpur air force station hosted a President's sortie for the first time. In 2009, former president Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet from the Pune air force base.
APJ Abdul Kalam and Ramnath Kovind had also made similar sorties in Sukhoi 30 fighter aircrafts at the IAF station in Pune, Maharashtra, while serving as the Presidents of India.
President Murmu on Friday took part in Gaj Utsav at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in Assam to mark 30 years of Project Elephant. She enjoyed a jeep safari inside the Kaziranga National Park's central range before launching the 'Gaj Utsav-2023' (elephant festival) on the second day of her Assam visit, officials said. Assam GovernorGulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were present on the occasion.The ‘Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition-2023’ at Guwahati was also flagged off by Murmu.
(With inputs from PTI)
