Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strapped herself into a G-suit Wednesday Jan 17,2018
and became the second Indian woman leader to go on a sortie on a
Sukhoi-30 fighter jet.
The supersonic jet took off for the 45-minute
ride from the Jodhpur Air Force station this morning Wednesday Jan 17,2018. After landing, the
58-year-old minister said the experience was "eye-opening and
memorable".
A video from inside the Sukhoi showed the minister waving before the take-off and then the ground falling away rapidly.
A Sukhoi-30 is capable of achieving a maximum speed of 2,100 km an hour --- nearly four times more than a commercial airliner.
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,"
After the sortie, Ms Sitharaman said she was "very proud and thankful" for the experience. "It actually tells me with what rigor, practice, what level of readiness & how quickly they (the defence personnel) have to respond to situations," she said.
In 2003, then defence minister George Fernandes became the first VIP to
take a fighter sortie. Three years later, former President APJ Abdul
Kalam also took the fighter jet - the first President of India to do so.
Both of them were in their early 70s.
Former President Pratibha Patil was the first woman and at the 75, the oldest person to ride the fighter jet in 2009. Junior defence minister Rao Inderjit Singh, BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Union minister Kiren Rijiju also belong to the elite list
A video from inside the Sukhoi showed the minister waving before the take-off and then the ground falling away rapidly.
A Sukhoi-30 is capable of achieving a maximum speed of 2,100 km an hour --- nearly four times more than a commercial airliner.
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,"
After the sortie, Ms Sitharaman said she was "very proud and thankful" for the experience. "It actually tells me with what rigor, practice, what level of readiness & how quickly they (the defence personnel) have to respond to situations," she said.
Former President Pratibha Patil was the first woman and at the 75, the oldest person to ride the fighter jet in 2009. Junior defence minister Rao Inderjit Singh, BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Union minister Kiren Rijiju also belong to the elite list
No comments:
Post a Comment