Father-daughter Duo Rewrites Indian Aviation History

Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma and Flying Officer Ananya Sharma have written aviation history by becoming the IAF’s first father-daughter team to pilot fighter planes together.

The father-daughter duo flew in the same formation of Hawk-132 aircraft at Air Force Station Bidar as part of a mission.

Daughters always want to become what their fathers are, and so did Ananya. Having been raised in an IAF environment, Ananya always looked up to her father, a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, ever since she was a little girl.

Ananya, an electronics and communication graduate, was chosen for IAF flying branch training and received her fighter pilot commission in December 2021, while Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma was commissioned back in 1989 and has feathers to his cap in his profound experience.

The duo’s rapport in the field is so applaudable that even the IAF, in a press release, said, “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.”

For Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma, 30 May stands out as the biggest day in his life as he flew in the same Hawk aircraft along with his daughter.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old will be posted to a full-fledged fighter squadron in January next year.