Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma and Flying Officer Ananya Sharma made history by becoming the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) first father-daughter pair to pilot fighter jets together.
As young Ananya was growing up, she watched her father, a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF), nurture this very bond with his fellow squadron pilots. Having virtually grown up in the IAF, there was absolutely no other profession that she could imagine being a part of.
Ananya’s lifelong dream comes true
Ananya saw her lifelong dream come true when the IAF’s first female fighter pilots entered service in 2016. She was chosen for IAF flying training after completing her B Tech in Electronics and Communication. In December 2021, she was commissioned as a fighter pilot. Ananya’s father, Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma, was commissioned in the Indian Air Force’s fighter stream in 1989. He has extensive fighter operations experience, having commanded a Mig-21 Sqn as well as a frontline fighter station.
Father-daughter duo created history
The father-daughter duo created history on May 30, 2022, when they flew in the same formation of Hawk-132 aircraft at Air Force Station Bidar, where Flying Officer Ananya Sharma is undergoing her training before she graduates onto faster and more superior fighter aircraft of the IAF.
There has not been any previous instance in the IAF where a father and his daughter were part of the same fighter formation for a mission.
Undergoing fighter training at Bidar on the Hawks
Ananya is now undergoing transitional fighter training at Bidar on the Hawks, which includes learning intensive combat manoeuvres and armament firing spread over a year to ensure rookie pilots can handle highly-unforgiving old fighters like MiG-21s.
She will be posted to a full-fledged fighter squadron in January. Her father, who was commissioned in 1989, had earlier commanded the famous 101 `Falcons of Chhamb and Akhnoor’ squadron of MiG-21s. The squadron, which was subsequently `number-plated’, was resurrected last year at Hasimara with the new Rafale fighters.
