The Indian Presidential Office announced, (Saturday), that the President of the Republic, Draupadi Mormo, flew Saturday on board a Su-30 MKI fighter plane from Tezpur Air Base in the state of Assam.
And 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.”
Chief Mormo 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 Mormo wrote: “It was an exhilarating experience for me to fly the super powerful Su-30MK fighter jet of the Indian Air Force. It is a matter of 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 about 270 fighters of this type, including those delivered from Russia.
Okaz (New Delhi)