President Patil can fly fighter jets only if medically fit: IAF chief Naik

New Delhi, Nov 13 (ANI): The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik said here on Friday that President Pratibha Patil is medically fit to fly in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft, but would undertake the sortie only if found fit on the day of the flight.

Addressing the media, Air Chief Marshal Naik said: "We have completely evaluated her health. She has been preparing for this for the last two months and she is medically fit."

"Even on the day she goes on the sortie, she will be tested, just before she gets into the aircraft. Only if the President is medically fit on that particular day, she will take the flight," he added.

President Patil, who is also the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces, is scheduled to fly the IAF's frontline aircraft from Lohegaon Airbase near Pune on November 25.

"Being the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, it is a matter of pride for the IAF that she will be flying one of our aircraft," Air Chief Marshal Naik said.

He said President Patil has been briefed and given a audio-video presentation on flying in a fighter jet plane by Air Force officers recently.

"She will again be briefed on the day she will fly in the SU-30MKI," he added.

Meanwhile, commenting on China's growing military might in outer space, he reiterated that India is not in favour of militarizing space.

" Signal intelligence, visual intelligence, image intelligence, remote sensing, all kind of satellites are there in space, it's become a very crowded affair at this moment," he said.

"Almost the entire world has said that they are not for miniaturization of space," Naik added.

Air Chief Marshal Naik also said: "What China is doing let them do. What do we have to do with them? It is a sovereign country, what they do is their problem, it's not my problem." (ANI)