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Defence Minister Sitharaman flies Sukhoi fighter jet

| @indiablooms | Jan 17, 2018, at 07:56 pm

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IBNS) : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday became  second Indian woman leader to fly a Sukhoi 30 fighter jet when she completed a 45-minute sortie in a two-seater twin-engine Indian Air Force aircraft in Rajasthan, reports said.

The supersonic jet took off from Jodhpur Air Force station in the morning.

For her sortie, Sitharaman wore a flight overall and a G-Suit.  She also wore a helmet with an oxygen mask, the reports said.

Earlier, Former Presidents Pratibha Patil and Abdul Kalam had also flown in the fighter. 

According to reports, by flying the Sukhoi fighter  the Defence Minister reviewed the operational preparedness and  combat capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Earlier this month, Sitharaman  reviewed the prowess of the Indian Navy by going onboard INS Kolkata, an indigenous Kolkata-class destroyer, and INS Vikramaditya, an aircraft carrier.

A few days ago, she was onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in the Arabian sea to witness the operations of the MiG-29 fighter off the deck of the ship and other Naval exercises.

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