Flight Lt Singh first woman fighter pilot to fly Rafale

Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh will be the first woman fighter pilot to fly the sophisticated Rafale fighter jets recently inducted into the IAF at its Ambala airbase.

Varanasi-born Singh was commissioned into the IAF in 2017 as part of the second batch of women fighter pilots. At present, she is flying Mig-21 jets and her conversion training to fly the Rafales has commenced, sources said here on Wednesday.

After rigorous training, she will join the ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron of the Rafales at Ambala some months later.

Prior to this assignment, she was flying MIG-21s somewhere in the Rajasthan sector. Her course-mate Flight Lieutenant Pratibha is all set to fly another frontline jet SU-30 shortly, sources added. It will be another first one for women fighter pilots. At present, there are ten women fighter pilots in the IAF.