Father-daughter duo Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma, a seasoned fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF), and Flying Officer Ananya Sharma, commissioned as a fighter pilot in December 2021, created history in the annals of the Indian Air Force by flying as part of the same fighter formation. On May 30, 2022, they flew in the same formation of Hawk-132 Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT) at Air Force Station, Bidar.
“Flying Officer Sharma is currently 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,” an IAF officer said. “It was the mission where Air Cmde Sanjay and Fg Offr Ananya were more than just father and daughter. They were comrades, who had full faith in each other as fellow wingmen would,” the officer noted.
