Who is Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh? Rafale pilot whose plane Pakistan claimed to have shot down is now a Qualified Flying Instructor

In what has come as a historic moment for the Indian Air Force, Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh received the Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) badge on Friday, becoming the first woman fighter pilot in the country to earn the badge.

 

Squadron Leader Singh also holds the distinction of being the first woman Rafale pilot, according to reports.  She completed the flying instructor course from Tamil Nadu's Tambaram-based Flying Instructors’ School. The fighter pilot will now be training rookie pilots of the Indian Air Force.

 

"Valedictory ceremony for the 159th #QFIC was conducted at FIS AFS Tambaram on 09 Oct 25. Air Mshl Tejbir Singh, SASO TC IAF was the Chief Guest. 59 officers from IAF, sister services & friendly foreign countries were conferred the coveted ‘#QualifiedFlyingInstructor’ badge," a tweet from the Training Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

 

The QFI badge to  Squadron Leader Singh comes as a slap on the face of Pakistan, which falsely claimed that the Rafale fighter jet that she was flying was shot down during Operation Sindoor.

 

Meanwhile, Pakistan attempted to discredit her further after reports of her earning the badge were going viral, by claiming that the IAF shared an edited image of Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh.

 

The Fact Check department of the PIB, in a tweet, said, "A Pakistani propaganda account  "Ousai2002" has claimed that the Indian Air Force shared an edited image of Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh.

 

#PIBFactCheck

 

❌ This claim is #FAKE."

 

Earlier,  Pakistan-based X handle, operating under the username Azhar Naseem Khan, shared a video Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh visiting the home of IAF pilot Shivangi Singh, and claimed that the IAF chief was consoling the mother of the IAF pilot as she had gone missing during the India-Pakistan military stand-off. However, a PTI fact check revealed that it was the video of the IAF chief visiting the family of late Sgt Surendra Kumar, who laid down his life in the line of duty during Operation Sindoor in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu.

 

Defence