President Draupadi Murmu will fly a Rafale fighter jet today
President Draupadi Murmu will fly a Rafale fighter jet from Ambala Air Force Station on Wednesday. Murmu, the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet at Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam on April 8, 2023. India used Rafale fighter jets during Operation Sindoor.
APJ Abdul Kalam has also flown
Earlier, while being the President, APJ Abdul Kalam had flown in the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft on June 8, 2006 and Pratibha Patil had flown on November 25, 2009 at the Lohegaon Air Force Station near Pune.
Rafale was used in Operation Sindoor
Pakistan then attempted to attack Indian military positions. In response, India destroyed several Pakistani military posts. After four days of fighting, India suspended military action on May 10 at Pakistan’s request.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan issued a statement on Tuesday, saying, “The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, will visit Ambala, Haryana tomorrow where she will take a sortie in Rafale.”
On Tuesday, the President inaugurated the Eighth Session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly’s first plenary in the national capital, the President’s secretariat said. At the event, the President spoke of the harmful effects of climate change and urged for concrete steps to be taken to mitigate the same.
Rafale jets: All you need to know
The Rafale production began in France after the country fell out with the UK, Spain, Germany, and Italy while trying to jointly produce a future-ready fighter plane in the late 1970s.
Following the dispute, France pursued its own project involving most of its major defence companies. The Rafale was formally introduced in 2001 for the French Air Force and the French Navy.
The Rafale jets can reach a maximum speed of 1,912 kmph at high altitudes and 1,390 kmph at lower altitudes. There are several variants of the Rafale jets, with the Indian Air Force using the two-seater Rafale DH variant and the single-seater Rafale MH variant. The Indian Navy uses the single-seater Rafale MH variant.
Besides India and France, other countries which use the Rafale jets include Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia and Serbia have also placed orders for Rafale jets. While Indonesia will get their delivery in 2026, Serbia will receive 12 Rafale jets by 2029.
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