New Delhi: Supreme commander of the Indian armed forces President Droupadi Murmu made history by undertaking a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet at the Air Force Station in Ambala on Wednesday.

This marked the first time an Indian President has flown in the advanced French-origin multirole combat aircraft, which forms a cornerstone of the Indian Air Force’s air superiority capabilities. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh flew in a second Rafale aircraft, making it a two-aircraft mission. The Rafale aircraft based at Ambala were in the forefront of the recently conducted airstrikes at terrorist infrastructure deep inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. The same Rafale squadron also hit military installations in Pakistan in the second phase of the operation.

Arriving from New Delhi at around 9.30 am, the President was received by Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and inspected a guard of honour by the IAF. Later, President Murmu donned a G-suit and helmet as she boarded the aircraft and experienced high-speed manoeuvres and aerial demonstrations.

Group Captain Amit Gehani, the commanding officer of the IAF’s No 17 Squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’, was the pilot of the aircraft carrying the President. The 30-minute flight took the President over an area roughly 100 miles around Ambala, during which time she was shown various technical capabilities of the Rafale aircraft.

The President was assisted into the Rafale cockpit by Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the first woman pilot to fly the aircraft.

After the sortie, the President posed for photographs with Singh in the backdrop of the Rafale aircraft. Singh was in the news earlier this year when Pakistan ran a disinformation campaign during Operation Sindoor, saying that her aircraft had been shot down and she had been taken prisoner.