Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh: Pilot who was always meant to own the sky

It was the early 1990s. Vyomika Singh was in Class 6 discussing the meaning of names when someone spoke out, "You are Vyomika, which means you own the sky."

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That was the day she decided she would become a pilot.

That dream came true. She is today a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force and on Wednesday was chosen to brief the nation about India's 'Operation Sindoor', sparking that question - Who is Vyomika Singh?

An accomplished helicopter pilot, Vyomika has flown a variety of aircraft and taken part in rescue operations in extreme conditions to evacuate civilians.

In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.

The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor', two weeks after the massacre of 26 people, mostly tourists, in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

At the briefing, Vyomika, alongside Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Col Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army, briefed the media on India's strike. The women officers flanked Misri on the dais, who delivered the opening statement from the government.

The two officers then shared details about the sites hit by the Indian forces.