Wearing an olive green flying suit and helmet, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday took a 25-minute flight as co-pilot in a light combat helicopter ‘Prachand’ near the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district.
The helicopter took off from Jaisalmer Air Force Station after the captain briefed the President, according to the Indian Air Force (IAF). She waved from the cockpit before taking off.
During the flight, President Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, delivered a message to the nation from the cockpit: “The Prachand helicopter is a powerful symbol of self-reliance.
“At this moment I am flying over Jaisalmer district. My heartiest salute and deepest gratitude to our brave soldiers. I heartily salute you, Jai Hind, Jai Bharat,” she said.
She also said that “we are extremely proud of our country’s brave air warriors”.
The helicopter flew over the Pokhara firing range where the IAF is scheduled to conduct a ‘Vayu Shakti’ firepower demonstration on Friday evening. Murmu will witness a day-dusk-night demonstration.
Earlier, IAF Air Chief Marshal AP Singh welcomed the President at the IAF station.
With today’s airstrike, Murmu became the first female Indian president to fly in an attack helicopter, adding another milestone to her engagements with frontline military platforms.
In October last year, she flew a Rafale fighter jet at the Air Force Station in Ambala, becoming the first female President of India to fly in two different IAF fighter jets.
In April 2023, she conducted a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet at Tezpur Air Station in Assam, flying for about 30 minutes over the Brahmaputra Valley and Tezpur overlooking the Himalayas.
The LCH Prachand is India’s first combat helicopter designed and developed in India, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Equipped with advanced avionics, stealth capabilities, night attack capability and a formidable array of weapons including air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles, missiles and a 20mm cannon, the LCH significantly enhances the combat capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh flew the Prachand, which translates to wild, during the formal commissioning of the first LCH to the IAF at Jodhpur Air Force Station in October 2022.
