From Sukhoi to Rafale: President Murmu to take the skies again with IAF

Days after her planned visit to the Indian Air Force’s Ambala combat base was cancelled, President Droupadi Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, is set to undertake a sortie in a Rafale fighter aircraft on October 29, marking a significant moment in her engagement with India’s war-zone defence capabilities.

It may be noted that earlier in April 2023, the President undertook a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam. Giving details of the upcoming sortie, the IAF spokesperson said that the President would be flying in a two-seater variant of the French-made aircraft with a IAF senior pilot managing the controls.

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Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh will also be present at the base along with the Chief of the IAF’s Western Command (CiC) Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra. The Rafale fighter jet was formally inducted into the IAF in September 2020 with No. 17 Squadron, known as the Golden Arrows, stationed at Ambala, the Air Force’s oldest operational base. Reportedly, the Squadron was also deployed during Operation Sindoor, launched in May following the Pahalgam terror attack.