President Droupadi Murmu took to the skies in a Rafale fighter jet from the Ambala Air Force Base in Haryana — marking a first for an Indian President.
#WATCH | President Droupadi Murmu takes a sortie in a Rafale aircraft in Ambala, Haryana
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
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2025
The sortie comes five months after Rafales from the same airbase carried out Operation Sindoor, a mission launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting camps across the border as part of India’s strong anti-terror message.
Before take-off, President Murmu — the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces — was accorded a Guard of Honour at the Ambala Air Force Station. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, Chief of Air Staff, was present for the occasion.
This was President Murmu’s second flight in a fighter jet. In April 2023, she flew a Sukhoi-30 MKI from the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam, becoming the third President and the second woman head of state to fly in a fighter aircraft.
Before her, former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had both taken sorties in the Sukhoi-30 MKI at Lohegaon Air Base near Pune.
Tuesday’s sortie, however, holds special significance — it’s the first time an Indian President has flown in a Rafale, the French-made multirole fighter jet built by Dassault Aviation.
The Rafales, inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2020, form part of the 17 Squadron, ‘Golden Arrows’, stationed at Ambala — a symbol of India’s growing air power and strategic deterrence capabilities.
