Indian Navy gets its first woman pilot Shivangi

New Delhi: The Indian Navy on Monday got its first woman pilot, Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Shivangi.

A batch of three trainee officers, including SLt Shivangi, on Monday qualified as Dornier pilots and were awarded the coveted golden ‘wings’ at a simple ceremony held at INS Garuda. It signifies their qualification as naval aviators.

Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command presented the ‘wings’ to the passing out officers.

Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Shivangi is the first woman pilot of the Indian Navy.

The award of the ‘wings’ marks the culmination of one year of flying training at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, and Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 550, INS Garuda in Kochi. From here on, these pilots will join the Dornier Operational Flying Training course at INAS 550 from mid-January 2020, prior to joining an operational Maritime Reconnaissance squadron.

SLt Shivangi is from Muzaffarpur in Bihar and was inducted into the Indian Navy under the Short Service Commission (SSC)-Pilot entry scheme, and was part of the 27th naval orientation course at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala.

She was commissioned into the Navy in June last year. As part of her training, SLt Shivangi has flown Pilatus PC 7 Mk II, Basic Trainer at the Air Force Academy and completed Dornier Conversion with the Indian Navy at Kochi. She will continue her training at INAS 550, the Dornier squadron at INS Garuda, to become a fully operational pilot on Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) aircraft.