President Droupadi Murmu Becomes 4th Indian President To Take Sortie On IAF's Fighter Aircraft. WATCH
President Droupadi Murmu took a sortie on the Indian Air Force's Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft in Assam on Saturday.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday took a sortie on the Indian Air Force's Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft in Assam. With this, she has become the fourth Indian President to take an IAF Aircraft sortie. She arrived at Tezpur Air Force Station and was accorded Guard of Honour on her arrival.
#WATCH | President Droupadi Murmu took a historic sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam. President Murmu is the third President and second woman President to undertake such a sortie. pic.twitter.com/rPqihiS09K
— ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2023
As per an official release from the President's office, she expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said "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.”
It said, "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. In March 2023, the President visited INS Vikrant and interacted with officers and sailors on board of the indigenously built aircraft."
The aircraft flew at a height of about two kilometers above sea level and at a speed of about 800 kilometers per hour. The aircraft was flown by Group Captain Naveen Kumar, Commanding Officer of the 106 Squadron.
President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a three-day visit to Assam, inaugurated the 'Gaj Utsav' at the state’s Kaziranga National Park on Frida. She arrived in Assam on Thursday and was greeted at the airport by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
On Friday, she inaugurated the 'Gaj Utsav 2023' at the Kaziranga National Park to mark 30 years of Project Elephant. During the programme, she said, “The responsibility of man-elephant conflicts rests on the human society.”
While inaugurating the Gaj Utsav 2023, Murmu said protecting elephants was an important part of our national responsibility to preserve our national heritage.
After the inauguration, the President witnessed cultural performances Bhortal, Jhumur and Bihu dance forms conducted by Assamese artists at Kohora.
President Murmu also interacted with the people of Assam on the sidelines of the event. She will fly a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft on Saturday from the Tezpur Air Force Station.
Other Presidents To Take IAF Jet Sortie
President Murmu is the third President and second woman President to undertake such an IAF higher aircraft sortie. Earlier, former president Pratibha Patil had flown in the frontline fighter aircraft in 2009.
On the other hand, former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Ramnath Kovind had also made similar sorties in Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft at the IAF station in Pune, Maharashtra.
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