Dakshina Kannada’s Prajwal R. Shetty Becomes a Rafale Fighter Pilot

Flight Lieutenant Prajwal R. Shetty, a native of Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, has become an operational Rafale fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force. On 25 October 2026, he flew in the lead position of the three-aircraft ‘Neelkanth’ formation at the ‘Wings Over Ganga’ aerial display in Varanasi, held as part of the IAF’s 94th anniversary celebrations.

Training and Squadron

Shetty secured all-India rank 42 in the UPSC National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance examination after completing his Pre-University Course. He undertook three years of training at the National Defence Academy in Pune, including flying training on the Super Dimona. At the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, he topped aviation subjects, earned a B.Tech degree and trained on Pilatus and Kiran aircraft. He later completed Hawk conversion training at Kalaikunda, West Bengal.

Commissioned into the IAF’s fighter stream in December 2022, Shetty serves with the 17th Squadron, known as the ‘Golden Arrows’, based in Ambala, Haryana. He completed Rafale conversion training before becoming operational on the aircraft.