The month of May 2022 saw a rare record set in the sky: Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma and Flying Officer Ananya Sharma took off on their Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk-132 for a variety of manoeuvres together. They became the first pair of father-daughter who flew in the same formation at the Air Force Station in Bidar (Karnataka), where Ananya was training.
Ananya has been quite lucky. As a child when she showed interest in the combat jet, the Indian Air Force (IAF) did not have any plans for women to join the fighter stream. But, her father never said no to her. Whenever she would bug her dad about it, he would reassure her: “Don’t worry.”
Then came the year 2016 when the IAF’s first women fighter pilots entered service, convincing Ananya that her dream was coming true. For Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma, her decision to join the challenging career in the IAF came as a pleasant surprise as she had already begun her professional journey in the corporate sector.
After completing her BTech in Electronics & Communication, Ananya joined KPMG. Around the same time, she also filled out the form and cleared the written exam and the Services Selection Board (SSB) in 2020. She was commissioned into the force in December 2021.
The gruelling IAF training is divided into STAGE I, II and III. Each stage gradually takes you from fundamental to more complex levels of aviation. Before the training begins, a candidate is first exposed to technical training on the trainer aircraft. This involves imparting theoretical understanding and then a practical demonstration of all systems of the aircraft. This also includes undertaking a programme in aviation medicine.
Ananya did her pre-flying at Air Force Academy for six months before commencing STAGE-I–I 24-week training. She was allotted the fighter branch. It is at this stage that pilot trainees are trifurcated into fighter, transport and helicopter streams. Then comes STAGE-II 24-week training in their respective flying training establishments. After STAGE-II training, successful pilot trainees are commissioned as officers and undergo STAGE–III training. On completion of STAGE–III training, they begin operational flying at the squadrons/units assigned to them.
“Even if one wants to join the fighter branch, it doesn’t happen easily. A board does the tri-furcation which considers your preference, performance at the academy and the instructor’s recommendations,” says Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma.
“After getting commissioned as a fighter pilot, Ananya came and saluted me. It made me really proud,” says a beaming Air Commodore. “It was the biggest day of my life when I flew with Ananya,” he says in a video put out by the IAF. This year she completed her training in the AJT Hawk and has been lucky to get selected to fly frontline Sukhoi 30.
The Air Commodore vividly remembers the joint-flying with Ananya. “I was posted in Air HQ and she was undergoing Hawk flying and was to complete solo flying and enter the formation flying phase,” says Air Commodore. The Air Force permitted it and the rest is history as the two flew in one formation.
The Air Commodore was commissioned in the fighter stream in 1989. He has had an extensive experience in fighter operations, having commanded a MiG-21 squadron as well as a frontline fighter. He recently superannuated from the IAF.
Mother Sonal Sharma said, “I am extremely happy and proud. I can’t explain my feelings when both Sanjay and Ananya got airborne in the same formation… It was a feeling way beyond any happiness or satisfaction that I ever experienced.”
“She is a good flier; I can say without a doubt. I have seen her grow as a child; I can judge her capabilities. Self-motivation makes things easy, else it is hard. Ananya is self-motivated,” says her proud father. Ananya’s elder sister is also a part of the force; she is married to an Army Officer.