Rafale fighter jets tied inbond with Ballia, Banaras

Varanasi: Rafale fighter aircraft, which were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on September 10 at Air Force Station, Ambala, in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for the Armed Forces of France, Florence Parly, now have a strong connection with Banaras and Ballia districts of east Uttar Pradesh.

The credit of flying one Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, France, to Indian Air Force station Ambala, goes to Ballia boy, Wing Commander Manish Singh, while Banarasi girl Shivangi Singh has been selected to fly this multi-role air dominance aircraft in wartime.

When the first batch of five Rafales landed at Ambala IAF station on July 29, Bakawa, the native village of Manish in Ballia erupted with joy as people burst crackers and distributed sweets.

Manish, son of an ex-serviceman Madan Singh, was chosen for flying Rafale home and was sent to France for a six-month rigorous training. The eldest among four siblings, Manish did his primary schooling in the village, and later at Karnal Sainik School. He was inducted into IAF in 2002.

The first batch of Rafales had three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft. The air-to-air refuelling planned during the first leg of the flight was undertaken by these pilots with dedicated tanker support from the French Air Force.

Now, Shivangi, a resident of Phulwariya, Varanasi, will also fly the Rafale. Shivangi was commissioned in 2017, and has been flying MIG-21 Bisons. She is currently undergoing conversion training, and will soon become part of 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’.

Shivangi did her B.Sc. from Sunbeam College for Women in Varanasi and learnt flying as part of her NCC ‘A’ Certificate in 7UP Air Wing at Banaras Hindu University. After clearing the common aptitude test, she went to the Air Force Academy for training in July 2016.


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