Watch: President Murmu Takes Maiden Sortie In Sukhoi-30 Fighter Jet

President Droupadi Murmu flew a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam on Saturday. The President is the Supreme Commander of the three services and is currently in Assam. With this event, President Murmu became the second female Indian president to take a flight in a fighter jet. The first female leader to do so was former President Pratibha Patil. She took her flight in a Sukhoi fighter jet in 2009 from the Pune Air Force Base.

President Murmu took a 30-minute flight before landing back at the Tezpur Air Force Station. During her flight she covered Brahmaputra and Tezpur valley with a view of Himalayas, as per the information shared on Rashtrapati Bhavan

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The president is currently on her three-day visit to Assam. She arrived in Assam on April 6. On the first day in the state, she inaugurated the Kaziranga National Park. Following this, on April 7, President flagged off Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition-2023. After opening the two-day "Gaj Festival" in the park on Friday, she also attended the event to celebrate the Gauhati High Court's 75 years in Guwahati.

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/DozRAWm3Yp — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 8, 2023

Notably, this was President Murmu's second state visit after assuming the top constitutional office in the nation in July 2022. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, also welcomed her on his official Twitter account.

The Sukhoi Design Bureau in Russia and the government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited jointly developed this multipurpose combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force. (HAL). The Indian version of this aircraft, which is based on the Su-30 fighter jet, has canards and thrust vectoring control.

#WATCH | Assam: President Droupadi Murmu takes sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft pic.twitter.com/jtRVsFR2X2 — ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2023

The Russian Sukhoi and Irkutsk Aircraft Production Association were formerly in charge of the development and production of the aircraft at that time, according to reports in the public domain. Development of the Su-30MKI for the IAF began in 1995. However, in 2000, India an Russia signed an MoU to commence production of the fighter jet.