President Droupadi Murmu Wednesday became the first president to take a sortie in Rafale fighter jet at Air Force Station in Haryana’s Ambala.

Rafale jets were used during Operation Sindoor — a targeted response by India to the April 22 dastardly Pahalgam terror attack.

However, this was not her first stint with fighter jets. On April 8, 2023, Murmu became the third President and second woman head of the state to take a sortie in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.

Former presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had undertaken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force Station, Lohegaon on June 8, 2006 and November 25, 2009, respectively.

Rafale fighter aircraft, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, arrive

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