The first woman fighter pilot of the Rafale squadron ‘Golden Arrows’, Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh was commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the year 2017 as part of the second batch of female fighter pilots. Since her commissioning, Singh has been flying MiG-21 Bisons. Hailing from Varanasi, she is presently on her way to becoming to a formal part of the 17 Squadron, ‘Golden Arrows’ in Ambala, and is undergoing her conversion training, reported India Today.
After the training, she will be converting from the IAF’s oldest jet, the MiG-21, to the newest Rafale. Singh’s course-mate and fellow woman fighter pilot Flt Lt Pratibha is also reportedly flying Su-30 MKI kegs currently.
Singh has been selected to join the freshly-inducted Rafale fighter fleet as one of its crew flying the multi-role air dominance aircraft. She has reportedly flown alongside Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the IAF pilot who was held captive in Pakistan after shooting down a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter on February 27 last year.
Having dreamed of becoming a pilot from a very yoing age, Singh proceeded for training at the Air Force Academy in 2016 after completing her education from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). While studying at the University, she was a part of the 7 UP Air Squadron in the National Cadet Corps.
Her arrival into the Golden Arrows squadron comes at a particularly significant time when the Rafale jets are in a high-tempo work up mode to fully operationalised.
Comments
0 comment