6 min learnLudhianaUp to date: Aug 17, 2026 05:04 AM IST
Together with his roots in Punjab, Indian-origin Flight Lieutenant Arshdeep Singh Dang, 28, has develop into the primary Sikh to graduate as a fighter pilot in Britain’s Royal Air Drive (RAF). He’s the primary Sikh to achieve wings from a Fighter Squadron of the RAF since World War II, in response to the RAF.
A quick jet pilot commencement ceremony was held at RAF Valley in North Wales on Friday (August 14), the place the British air power introduced Arshdeep’s achievement.
Talking to The Indian Categorical over the telephone, Arshdeep mentioned: “It was my paternal grandfather Sardar Santokh Singh Dang’s dream that my father must be a pilot. However my grandfather died when my father was simply 6. So my father by no means actually had these alternatives or sources to fulfil his want. My dad and mom inspired me, and I began to imagine that I may very well be a pilot. And it occurred.”
Chandigarh to Royal Air Drive
Arshdeep’s father, Jagdeep Singh Dang, is a local of Ludhiana, and his mom Gagandeep Kaur is from Amritsar. Nonetheless, Arshdeep was born in Chandigarh in 1998, and the couple moved to the UK when he was simply 6. “I attended a college in Mohali for two years or so, however I don’t actually bear in mind a lot. Nonetheless, we hold visiting Punjab to satisfy our households. Two years in the past, I visited Amritsar and Ludhiana,” says Arshdeep. Within the UK, the household lives in Southall, England.
Arshdeep attended the College of Bristol, incomes a BSc (Hons) in arithmetic and philosophy. He graduated from Officer Coaching in February 2022 and Elementary Flying Coaching in 2023. After serving in Cyprus, Dang was streamed to Quick Jet in 2024. He commenced his Quick Jet lead-in coaching in March 2025, adopted by Primary Quick Jet coaching in July the identical yr.
He was despatched solo to Texas in October 2025 and handed his wings check in July 2026. Subsequent, he’ll bear one other yr of intense coaching earlier than dealing with fighter jets on the entrance line.
Arshdeep was the one pilot of Indian origin in his batch. “I’m privileged to symbolize my neighborhood on a global stage. I’m the primary Sikh to realize this since World Conflict II, however I don’t wish to be the final.”
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“Sikhs made a serious contribution to the British Indian Military throughout World Conflict II. A number of Sikhs have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the very best British gallantry honour. However since then, there haven’t been any notable achievements. I need my success to encourage others. We all the time have an opportunity to create historical past, not simply within the UK, however in your complete world,” says Arshdeep.
“Though it was my grandfather’s dream to see my father as a pilot, my pillar of energy has all the time been my mom. She stored us grounded, humbled and by no means made us really feel low even once we had monetary constraints. She anchored our household by the hardest occasions. She stored these Punjabi roots and Sikh values imbibed in us even after we moved from India.”
Roots stored alive in UK
On how he stored his Punjabi roots intact regardless of shifting to the UK when he was a child, Arshdeep mentioned: “There’s a really strict rule in our dwelling. We converse in Punjabi to one another, and no different language is allowed in the home. We all the time go to the gurdwara, have langar, and hold the core values of Sikhism intact in our hearts. Throughout robust flights, the perpetually Punjabi spirit of “chardi kalan” (all the time in excessive spirits) helped me lots.”
Gauravdeep Singh, Arshdeep’s Ludhiana-based cousin, mentioned, “He has made Ludhiana and Punjab very proud.”
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Indian-origin fighter pilots in British power
A number of notable Indian-origin fighter pilots, together with Sikhs, served with distinction in Britain’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Drive (RAF) throughout each World Wars.
Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy was a legendary fighter pilot of Indian origin who served within the British army throughout World Conflict I and have become India’s first and solely “Flying Ace”, claiming 10 aerial victories with the RFC and RAF in 1918. He was the primary Indian ever to obtain the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
Essentially the most notable Sikh fighter pilots in British army historical past are Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik, the pioneering WWI aviator often known as the “Flying Sikh”, and Squadron Chief Mohinder Singh Pujji, a celebrated WWII fighter pilot who wore his turban proudly in fight. Each males broke racial and structural boundaries to fly fighter plane for British air providers.Malik flew with the French Air Service and later obtained an honorary fee as a pilot within the British Royal Flying Corps (which grew to become the RAF) on June 22, 1917. He refused to take away his turban for traditional headgear, so authorities accommodated him by designing a particular flying helmet to suit over it. He flew Sopwith Camels in harmful dogfights over the Western Entrance, famously surviving an October 1917 mission the place his aircraft was riddled with over 450 bullet hits.
World Conflict II hero Squadron Chief Mohinder Singh Pujji volunteered for the RAF in 1940 as considered one of its earliest Indian Sikh fighter pilots. He flew Hawker Hurricanes throughout Britain, the tough North African deserts, and the dense jungles of Burma. He had a customized oxygen masks manufactured to suit securely over his turban. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his bravery, surviving being shot down twice in the course of the warfare.
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