New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu, who took a 30-minute sortie in a Rafale fighter jet this week, was photographed with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh at the Ambala Air Force base - a moment that once again demolished Pakistan's false claims that the pilot was captured after her Rafale was shot down during Operation Sindoor.
Singh, the country's first and only woman Rafale pilot, had earlier flown the aircraft during Operation Sindoor. The 29-year-old officer from Varanasi joined the Air Force in 2017 as part of its second batch of women fighter pilots. Before qualifying for the Rafale in 2020, Shivangi Singh flew the MiG-21 Bison.
Her name made headlines during Operation Sindoor after Pakistan falsely claimed that India had lost several fighter jets, including a Rafale, and that Shivangi Singh had been captured near Sialkot after ejecting from her aircraft.
In a historic first, President Murmu took a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Air Force Station in Haryana's Ambala -- an experience she called 'unforgettable'.
In a note written in the visitors' book after the sortie, the President said she was 'delighted' to visit Ambala for her maiden Rafale flight. "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," Murmu wrote.
