Pakistani media reports had claimed during the border conflict in May that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh was a prisoner of war and that her fighter jet was shot down during Operation Sindoor.
Now, busting Pakistani propaganda, she was seen posing with President Droupadi Murmu when the President visited Ambala (Haryana) to take a sortie in a Rafale aircraft.
In May, after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani media and social media handles had claimed that Squadron Leader Singh’s plane was disabled and that she was later captured.
The Indian government denied the report and fact-checked social media posts, writing on X: “Pro-Pakistan social media handles claim that an Indian Female Air Force pilot, Squadron Leader Shivani Singh, has been captured in Pakistan. This claim is Fake.”
Murmu and her fighter jet experience
Murmu became India’s first President to have taken sorties in two fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Earlier, she took a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI in 2023.
Air Force Station Ambala is the first Air Force station where Rafale aircraft arrived from Dassault Aviation Facility, France.
“The President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew for approximately 30 minutes covering about 200 kilometres before returning to the Air Force Station,” read the statement.
The aircraft was flown by Group Captain Amit Gehani, Commanding Officer of the 17 Squadron.
The aircraft flew at a height of about 15,000 ft above sea level and at a speed of about 700 kilometres per hour.
Later, in the visitors’ book, the President expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said, “I am delighted to visit Air Force Station Ambala for my maiden flight on Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The sortie on Rafale is an unforgettable experience for me. This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation’s defence capabilities. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station, Ambala for organising this sortie successfully.”
