Rajnath 1st defence minister to fly in Tejas fighter aircraft

Following his maiden sortie on a Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), fully dressed in a GSuit in Bengaluru on Thursday, Rajnath Singh, who became the first Defence Minister to fly the aircraft, said he was thrilled with the flight and chose to fly since it was indigenously developed.

The aircraft was piloted by senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Air Vice Marshal N. Tiwari.

"I was thrilled with the flight. It was a very smooth and comfortable flight for me. I was enjoying the flight. I am proud of the scientists of the country as well as with organisations who have worked on developing the Tejas aircraft. Today, there is a demand for Tejas in several other countries. We have reached a position in which we can not only export fighter aircraft but also other defence equipment to other countries," said Singh.

Singh became the first defence minister of the country to fly a Tejas aircraft.

On being asked as to why he chose the Tejas aircraft to fly, Singh said it was because the jet is "indigenously developed".

Former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, flew in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet of the IAF on January 17, 2008 from the Jodhpur air base in Rajasthan. She was also the first female Defence Minister to fly in a fighter jet as a "co-pilot".

Former Presidents Pratibha Patil and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam also flew in Su-30 on November 25, 2009 and June 8, 2006 from Pune when in office as THE Supreme Commander of the armed forces. Pratibha Patil was the first female President and Kalam the first President to fly in a military fighter.

Rajnath Singh undertook the sortie at 9.58 a.m. from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport in Bengaluru for a 30minute sortie.