President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday recalled her experience of flying a sortie in Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.
Addressing the cadets after reviewing the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal near here, she said ‘In April 2023, I flew a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.
I flew for nearly 30 minutes covering Brahmaputra and Tezpur valleys with a great view of the Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station.
It was indeed a great experience to fly at a height of about two kilometres above sea level at a speed of about 800 kilometres per hour,’ Murmu said.
The President also said modernisation of the Indian Air Force through induction of Rafale fighter aircraft, the Apache attack helicopter and the Chinook heavy lift helicopter strengthens our operational capabilities.
I am also happy to know about the indigenisation efforts of the Ministry of Defence for realising the national agenda of Atma-nirbhar Bharat, she added.
