President Droupadi Murmu flies sortie in Sukhoi-30 fighter jet

Tezpur: President Droupadi Murmu flew a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft today from the Tezpur Air Force Station at Assam.

She arrived at Tezpur Air Force Station and was accorded Guard of Honour on her arrival.

Notably, she became the second female head of state to fly in a warplane after former President Pratibha Patil took off from the Pune air force base in a frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet in 2009.

President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a three-day visit to Assam, inaugurated the ‘Gaj Utsav’ at state’s Kaziranga National Park on Friday. During the programme, she said, “The responsibility of man-elephant conflicts rests on the human society.”

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 800 km 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.

#WATCH | Assam: President Droupadi Murmu takes sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft #DroupadiMurmu pic.twitter.com/QT4Ekwh2eS

— Kalinga TV (@Kalingatv) April 8, 2023