WATCH: President Droupadi Murmu undertakes Rafale Jet sortie from Ambala's Air Force station

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday (October 29, 2025) undertook a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Air Force Station in the Ambala district of Haryana. Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh also joined her, fleeing in a separate aircraft from the same airbase. She also wore a G-suit before boarding the Rafale jet.

Before the aircraft took off at 11:27 a.m., Murmu held a helmet in her hand, wore sunglasses, and posed for pictures with the pilot. She also waved from inside the jet. Meanwhile, the President was also awarded a ceremonial guard of honour after she arrived at the Air Force Station this morning, according to a report by news agency PTI.

In addition, Droupadi Murmu has become the third President and second woman head of state to take a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station of Assam on April 8, 2023.

Former president Pratibha Patil and APJ Abdul Kalam also undertook sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force station in Lohegaon, near Pune, Maharashtra, in June 2006 and November 2009, respectively.

What do we know about Rafale jets?

Manufactured by the France-based aerospace firm Dassault Aviation, Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at the Ambala Air Force station.

The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets arrived in India from France on July 27, 2020, and was inducted into the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron, known as the Golden Arrows. The Rafale marked the IAF’s first imported fighter aircraft in 22 years, following the induction of Russia’s Sukhoi-30 jets in June 1997.

It is a 4.5-generation, twin-engine, multi-role fighter jet, which was designed to perform a wide variety of combat missions, including air supremacy, ground attack, reconnaissance, and nuclear deterrence.