Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the first and only female Rafale fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, lauded the performance of her aircraft in the high altitude region despite the current standoff with China along the northern borders.
Flight Lieutenant Shivangi told ANI, “I have flown in that region, and we have completed all the missions assigned to us with the utmost ease.”
Regarding the Rafale’s performance in the current standoff with China in eastern Ladakh and other regions along the LAC, she was questioned.
In the French exercise Orion, Singh represented the Indian Air Force with several other powerful air forces, including those of the US, UK, France, and various other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces.
She said, “It was a great experience where I got to meet the fighter pilots of different countries,” when asked about her involvement in the international exercise Orion.
Singh said that the Indian pilots gained knowledge of both the flying conditions of other nations and Indian pilots.
According to Flight Lieutenant Shivangi, having the chance to speak with female pilots from other participating countries was a tremendous learning experience for her.
She is the first woman to fly a Rafale fighter.
Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the sole female pilot in the two squadrons of Rafale aircraft stationed at Ambala and Hashimara in West Bengal close to the China border, was commissioned in 2017 as part of the second class of women fighter pilots.
Only a few months into the standoff with China, the Indian Air Force received the Rafale fighter aircraft 2020, which was quickly operationalized.
In a transaction costing more than 60,000 crore, India negotiated for 36 aircraft, all of which have arrived and are fully functional.
