Who Is Shivangi Singh? India’s First Woman Rafale Pilot, Whom Pakistan Had Claimed To Have Captured During Operation Sindoor

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday met Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, India’s only woman Rafale pilot, whom Pakistani media had falsely claimed to have ‘captured’ during Operation Sindoor. The meeting took place while Singh was on a sortie at Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana.

President Murmu later shared a photograph of Singh in full flight overalls standing beside her, with a Rafale jet in the background.

President Droupadi Murmu took a sortie in a Rafale aircraft at Air Force Station, Ambala, Haryana. She is the first President of India to take sortie in two fighter aircrafts of the Indian Air Force. Earlier, she took a sortie in Sukhoi 30 MKI in 2023. pic.twitter.com/Rvj1ebaCou

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 29, 2025

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Who Is Shivangi Singh?

- Shivangi Singh, originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, developed a passion for flying after a childhood visit to the Air Force Museum in New Delhi.

- Singh, a graduate of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and former member of the NCC Air Wing, joined the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, NDTV reported.

- She completed rigorous training before being commissioned in 2017 as a part of the second batch of women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force.

- The Squadron Leader began her flying career with the high-speed MiG-21 Bison before being selected in 2020 to join the Indian Air Force’s Rafale programme.

- In 2020, Singh made history as the first Indian woman to pilot a Rafale fighter jet.

- Singh is posted with the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron "Golden Arrows" at Ambala, the IAF's first Rafale unit.

- She has represented India in international exercises such as France’s Exercise Orion 2023 and flown operational sorties over sensitive regions, including eastern Ladakh and the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistani Media Falsely Claimed Rafale Shootdown And Pilot Capture

Following Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strike on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani media circulated false reports claiming that Indian Rafale jets had been shot down and a woman pilot captured.

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Five months later, the Squadron Leader posed alongside President Droupadi Murmu in her flight overalls, sending a stern message to Pakistan.