Shivangi Singh-Flt Lt IAF, Age, Family, Biography & More

Shivangi Singh joined IAF in 2017, and become the first Indian women fighter pilot to fly Rafale in 2020. Shivangi Singh Rafale squadron’s first woman fighter pilot, and made history by flying the multi-role air dominance aircraft. She is now going to take part in the multinational exercise Orion in France.

Biography of Shivangi Singh

Early Age

Shivangi Singh belongs to Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. She has spent her childhood in Varanasi with her  big family of six members. Family lives in a small house near Fulwariya railway crossing Varanasi. She comes from a middle-class family, but open minded and supporting family.

Her community is very conservative, does not supports girl’s education. It was little difficult for her sometime to break the stereotypes for girls. Her family support made things easy for, Shivangi. She was a very active and enthusiastic girl from her childhood and shown her talent in every field of life.

She started her schooling from St. Mary School and after 8^th standard, shifted to St. George Convent School.  She was good in studies and equally active in other co-curricular activities. She passed her 12^th with 89% and joined S B M women’s college, Bhagwanpur for B.sc. She also joined NCC during her college. She has won Gold medal in Javelin throw at National level.

Career

Shivangi Singh has achieved a lot in her short career of 5 years in IAF. She flew MiG-21 Bison, joined IAF’s Golden Arrows squadron, became second women fighter jet pilot to be part of IAF tableau, and become the first fighter pilot to flew RAFALE.

Shivangi Singh dreams about becoming a pilot from her early childhood. She got her first exposure to Indian Air Force, when she visited Air Force museum with her grandfather (maternal). That was the day, when she was very much impressed by the fighter jet and uniform of Air Force. She made firm decision and worked hard to join Indian Air Force straight way from the day of her visit to museum.

After completing her M.sc. in year 2015, she started her preparation for IAF entrance. She cleared the Common Aptitude Test and went to the Air Force Academy for training around July 2016. 

Shivangi Singh joined the Indian Air Force in 2017 and was commissioned into the IAF’s second batch of women fighter pilots. After completing her training, she became the Flight Lieutenant.

Shivangi Singh flew the MiG-21 Bison Before she was selected for Rafale . She is a part of the IAF’s Golden Arrows squadron based in outer of Ambala, Punjab. She was second women fighter jet pilot to be part of IAF tableau at Republic day parade in year 2022.

She was posted at a border base in Rajasthan, where she flew alongside national hero – Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman – known for shooting down a Pakistani Air Force fighter jet on 27 February 2019, near the LoC, before being held captive and later returned by Pakistan.

The first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly the new Rafale jets, Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, is now soaring high in the skies over France as part of the on-going multi-nation exercise.

The Orion exercise is one of the largest-ever war games hosted by France, and also involves, land and sea drills with thousands of NATO troops at a time, when tensions continue to run high in Europe due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Achievements & Awards

• Gold medal in Javelin throw at National level.
• She became first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly the new Rafale jets in 2023.
• She became second women fighter jet pilot to be part of IAF tableau, at Republic day.

Personal life

There is not much about her personal life. She was born to  Kumareshwar Singh (father) & Seema Singh (mother). She has two brother (Mayank Singh and Subhanshu Singh) and a sister (Himanshi Singh).

Presently she is unmarried and more focused towards her aim. There are no updates about her personal life as per now.

She quoted about herself

“I always wanted to fly, as any child would dream of doing. Ever since I learned about the Air Force, I wanted only one thing – to become a fighter pilot. That is the reason I joined the Air Force.”

Interesting Facts

• In 2017, she joined the IAF and was commissioned in the IAF’s second batch of woman fighter pilots.
• Before flying Rafale, she flew MiG Bison aircraft.
• She became the first woman fighter pilot to fly Rafale in 2020 and was selected as a Rafale pilot following a stringent selection process.
• She took her conversion training and became a part of 17 Squadron, Golden Arrows, in Ambala.
• On 29 July 2020, the first batch of Rafale fighter jets arrived which was nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of around INR 59,000 crore.
• As per the official, 32 Rafale jets have been delivered to the IAF so far and four are expected by April this year.

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FAQ’s

Q1 Who is Shivangi Singh ?

Ans She is the first Indian women Flight Lieutenant, IAF to fly Rafale (New Generation Fighter Jet). Before flying Rafale, she flew MiG Bison aircraft.

 Q2 When did Shivangi get wings at Air Force Academy (AFA)?

Ans In December 2017, during the combined Graduation Parade of Pilots and ground Duty Officers, she received the wings at Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad.

Q3 Shivangi comes from which place?

Ans Shivangi Singh belongs to Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. 

Q4. She was commissioned in which batch Of Fighter pilots?

Ans She Joined the IAF and was commissioned in second batch of women fighter pilots. 

Q5. What kind of aircraft is Rafale?

Ans Rafale is a 4.5 Generation French fighter jet, which comes in three Variants. India has purchased 36 Rafale for citing “Critical operational necessity”  as per PM Narendra Modi.

In conclusion, Shivangi is a proud for every Indian. She has become role model of lots of young girls seeking dreams to join Indian Air Force. Her story teaches strong determination can help us achieve anything in life.

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