- By Yashashvi Tak
- Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:01 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday took a 30-minute flight in a Rafale fighter jet shortly after arriving at the Air Force Station in Ambala, Haryana. The Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, who was also present, took a separate flight from the same base. With this, she became the first President of India to undertake sorties in two different fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
Group Captain Amit Gehani piloted the aircraft carrying the President. He is also the Commanding Officer (CO) of the Indian Air Force's No. 17 Squadron, the "Golden Arrows."
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Before President Murmu, former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had undertaken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force Station in Lohegaon near Pune on June 8, 2006, and November 25, 2009, respectively.
#WATCH | President Droupadi Murmu takes a sortie in a Rafale aircraft in Ambala, Haryana
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2025
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh is also flying in another aircraft
Group Captain Amit Gehani is the pilot of the aircraft carrying the President. He is also the Commanding… pic.twitter.com/f3WRhGF0Nx
President Murmu’s Sukhoi-30MKI Fighter Jet Sortie in 2023
In 2023, President Droupadi Murmu took a 30-minute flight in an Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet at Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam. During the sortie, she flew over the Brahmaputra River and the Tezpur valley before returning safely to the base.
Earlier, former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had each flown in a Sukhoi-30MKI at Lohegaon Air Force Station near Pune, Kalam on June 8, 2006, and Patil on November 25, 2009.
Haryana: President Droupadi Murmu at the Ambala Air Force Station
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2025
She will shortly take a sortie in the Rafale aircraft pic.twitter.com/Noe5uNejIA
About The Rafale Fighter Jet
Rafale fighter jets are manufactured by the France-based aerospace company Dassault Aviation and were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at Ambala Air Force Station.
The first batch of five Rafale aircraft arrived in India from France on July 27, 2020, and was assigned to the 17 Squadron, known as the ‘Golden Arrows.’ The Rafale became the first imported fighter jet inducted into the IAF in 22 years, following the Russian Sukhoi-30, the first of which entered service in June 1997.