President Murmu flies in Rafale Fighter from airbase key to Op Sindoor

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 29, 2025: President Droupadi Murmu has taken off from the Ambala Air Force Base in Haryana for a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet. Five months ago, when India launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam attack, Rafales from this airbase had taken off with a mission to destroy terror camps across the border, delivering New Delhi’s anti-terror message.

This is the second such sortie in a fighter jet for Murmu.

The Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces had on April 8, 2023, flown in a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet at the Tezpur Air Force Station, Assam, becoming the third president and the second woman head of state to do so.

Before Murmu, former presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had flown in the Sukhoi-30 MKI at Lohegaon near Pune.

This is the first time an Indian President is flying the Rafale, manufactured by French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation.

Rafales joined the Indian Air Force’s fleet in 2020 at the Air Force Station, Ambala. These are part of the 17 Squadron, the ’Golden Arrows’.