itharaman on Wednesday became only the second woman leader in India to fly in Sukhoi-30 MKI jet
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday became only the second woman leader in India to fly in Sukhoi-30 MKI jet after former president Pratibha Patil. She is also only the second Defence Minister after George Fernandes who had taken a sortie aboard an SU-30 jet in 2003.
When he was the president, A P J Abdul Kalam had also flown in the fighter jet, an Air Force official said.
Sitharaman, dressed in an olive green pilot's G-suit and a helmet on her head, today flew from the Indian Air Force (IAF) station at Jodhpur in the all-weather, long-range fighter.
With Sitharaman on board, the supersonic jet rose to a height of 8000 metres and broke the sound barrier.
"It was a memorable experience ... and a smooth ride," the 58-year-old minister told reporters after her 45-minute flight.
Her pilot for the flight was Group Captain Sumit Garg.
She had earlier landed at the air force station on a bright and sunny day in an IAF aircraft, ready for the sortie by the Jodhpur-based Sukhoi squadron.
After being greeted and welcomed by senior IAF officers and a brief meeting with the air warriors, she donned the fighter pilot s G-suit -- which can withstand high acceleration and sharp manoeuvres, preventing loss of consciousness -- and was then briefed about the plane's operations and functioning.
The minister entered the cockpit and sat on the seat behind the pilot.
She was then familiarised with the supersonic jet, which forms an integral part of the nation s air power.
Looking calm, the country's first woman defence minister waved from inside the cockpit and showed a thumbs up sign as the aircraft moved for the much awaited take off.
Within seconds, the fighter jet was flying high with the country s first full-time woman defence minister on it.
After the 45-minute sortie towards the south-west region, the jet returned to the base, and she thanked the pilot for a wonderful" experience.
"I had a very memorable and great experience in the SU-30 MKI which is a made in India fighter. It was a smooth ride and the Group Captain made me feel absolutely at ease but showed his excellence in the flying," she said after returning from the sortie.
The plane crossed the speed of Mach 1 and rose to an altitude of 8000 metres, she pointed out.
"So, in a way, (it went) higher than Mount Everest and crossed the speed of sound. It just shows the excellence in our fighter pilots' training, she said.
Mount Everest is at a height of 8,848 metres.
The defence minister said the level of preparation and alertness exhibited by the pilots was an "eye opener".
I am very proud and thankful that I have gone through this experience because it tells me the rigour in practice and the level of readiness and how quickly they have to respond to situations, Sitharaman said.
During her visit to the Jodhpur air base, she reviewed operational and combat preparations and she was also briefed on the employment of air power in the defence of the country.
The minister has been visiting various establishments of the armed forces to gauge their operational capabilities and preparedness.
The Sukhoi-30 MKI is capable of carrying nuclear arms and can penetrate deep into enemy territory.
The BrahMos supersonic Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) was successfully test fired from the formidable fighter jet against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal in November last year.
The IAF has also successfully fired the Astra Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-to-Air missile from the jet.
The SU-30 MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia s Sukhoi and built under licence by India s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force.
(With PTI inputs)
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 "Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the cockpit of Sukhoi-30 MKI")
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