President Murmu creates history with Rafale sortie

In her second sortie in a combat aircraft, President Droupadi Murmu flew in a Rafale fighter jet, which is also the IAF’s newest warplane. On a smoggy Wednesday morning, the plane took off from the Ambala airbase as Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, flew alongside her in a separate aircraft.

The 35-minute sortie -- with the call sign Golden Arrow One and piloted by Group Captain Amit Gehani, Commanding Officer of No. 17 Squadron -- covered about 200 km over parts of Haryana. The aircraft flew at an altitude of about 15,000 feet and at a speed of about 700 km per hour.

“The sortie on Rafale is an unforgettable experience for me. This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation’s defence capabilities. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Ambala Air Force Station for successfully organising this sortie,” said the President.

The aircraft carrying the IAF Chief had the call sign ‘Golden Arrow Two’. Both two-seater trainer variants were from No. 17 Squadron, the Golden Arrows, which was the first to induct the French-made Rafale jets in September 2020.

After the sortie, the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was also presented a memento by the Air Force Chief. The memento bore her photograph wearing flying overalls and a g-suit taken just before getting into the aircraft.

She also posed for a picture with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, who is posted with the same squadron. During Operation Sindoor, Pakistani social media handles had falsely claimed that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh had been captured by the Pakistani forces.

In April 2023, the President had flown in a Su-30 fighter jet, belonging to No. 106 Squadron from the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam for approximately 30 minutes over the Brahmaputra and the Tezpur valley.

Murmu is the third President and the second woman President, to fly in an IAF combat jet and the first president to fly in two different types of fighter aircraft. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had flown in a Su-30 from Pune in June 2006, while Pratibha Patil had flown in the same aircraft from the same airbase in November 2009.

In November 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flown in an indigenous Tejas fighter jet from Bengaluru, becoming the first Prime Minister to fly in a fighter aircraft. Several other political leaders, including the present and past defence ministers have also undertaken sorties in fighter aircraft.

In 2003, the then Defence Minister George Fernandes had flown from the Ambala airbase in a two-seater MiG-21, which were finally decommissioned in September 2025 after serving for 62 years, in an effort aimed at restoring faith in the Soviet-origin jets after a spate of crashes.

The IAF has two squadrons of Rafale, the other, No. 101 Squadron, being based at Hasimara in the North-East.

The IAF is also in the process of procuring additional Rafale aircraft to make up for its depleting squadron strength. These aircraft, along with other platforms, were used in Operation Sindoor to carry out precision strikes on Pakistani sites.

A corner in the Ambala Air Force Station’s museum is dedicated to this operation, where pictures and some general details have been put up.