India's First Female Rafale Jet Pilot Is Featured In The Republic Day Air Force Tableau

Shivangi Singh, India's first female pilot to fly a Rafale fighter jet, was part of the Indian Air Force tableau at Wednesday's Republic Day celebration. Shivangi is the second female fighter jet pilot to serve in the IAF, following Bhawna Kanth, who was the first female fighter jet pilot to serve in the IAF.

The Indian Air Force, evolving for the future was the theme of this year's IAF tableau. During the march past, a tableau appeared on Rajpath with scaled-down models of the Rafale fighter plane, an indigenously designed light combat helicopter (LCH), and the Aslesha MK-1 3D surveillance radar. A scaled-down mockup of the MiG-21 aircraft, which played a key part in the 1971 conflict, was also on display.

Shivangi Singh was promoted into the Indian Air Force's second group of female fighter pilots in 2017. Shivangi formerly piloted MiG-21 Bison aircraft. Shivangi hails from Varanasi and is a member of the Indian Air Force's Golden Arrows squadron, which is based in Ambala, Punjab.

Shivangi Singh is the first woman fighter pilot to fly the Rafale in 2020 after being chosen as a Rafale pilot after a rigorous selection process.

The first batch of Rafale fighter jets arrived on July 29, 2020, roughly four years after India and France agreed to purchase 36 aircraft for a total cost of 59,000 crore. The IAF has received 32 Rafale jets so far, with four more scheduled to arrive in April 2022.