Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh: Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh is India’s first woman fighter pilot on the Rafale combat aircraft.

Key Points:

• Singh, who hails from Varanasi, was a part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Tableau at the 73rd Republic Day celebrations.
• She was flying MiG-21 Bison before being inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF. 
• She joined the Indian Air Force in 2017.
• She is the only second woman pilot to participate in the Indian Air Force Tableau.
• Fighter Jet pilot Bhawna Kanth was the first woman pilot to participate in the IAF tableau.

Note: The IAF was the first force to have allowed women officers in combat and has the highest percentage of female officers.

IAF Tableau:

• The tableau of the IAF at the Republic Day parade displayed the theme ‘Indian Air Force Transforming for the Future’.
• The tableau showcased the scaled-down models of MiG-21, Gnat, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Aslesha radar, and Rafale aircraft.

About:

The MiG-21s strike worked as the final trigger to capitulate the adversary and bring about a decisive victory in the 1971 war.

• Gnat, also known as ‘Sabre Slayer was the first indigenous aircraft, armed with 30 mm Aden guns and rockets.
  • Gnat was considered to be the best aircraft to take on an enemy aircraft in a dog fight.
• The indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is capable of high altitude operations and is armed with Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missile.
• Aslesha MK-1 is a three-dimensional Low-Level Light Weight and multi-beam ground-based 3D Surveillance Radar.
  • It is deployed in diverse terrains and has the capability to detect and track heterogeneous air targets, including helicopters, fighters, and UAVs at low and medium altitudes.
• GSAT 7A is a Geostationary satellite.
  • It enhances IAF’s Network Centric Warfare capabilities by interlinking all ground-based Radars, airbases, Airborne Early Warning, and Control Radars for detecting aircraft and vessels.
• Rafale with its advanced technology, equipped with a wide range of weapons is a game-changer to attain air supremacy.