President Droupadi Murmu flew Saturday on board a Su-30 MKI fighter plane from Tezpur Air Base in Assam state, according to the Indian Presidential Office.
The presidential office statement said: "The head of state, who is also considered the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, flew for about 30 minutes on board a fighter, and watched from the sky the course of the Brahmaputra River and the Tezpur Valley overlooking the Himalayas, before returning to the air force base."
Murmu is the 3rd President of India and the 2nd female President to make this journey. The fighter was piloted during the flight by No. 106 Squadron Commander Naveen Kumar.
On her part, President Murmu wrote, “It was an exhilarating experience for me to fly the super powerful Su-30MK fighter jet of the Indian Air Force. It is with great pride and joy that India's defense capabilities have been greatly expanded to cover all land, air and sea frontiers. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire Tezpur Air Base team for organizing this sortie."
It is noteworthy that the Su-30MKI fighters are being manufactured in India under a Russian license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The Indian Air Force has around 270 fighters of this type, including those delivered from Russia.
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