By Archisha Yadav | June 26, 2025
Shubhanshu Shukla was born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He is the youngest of three siblings and the first in his family to join the armed forces.
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He studied at City Montessori School, Aliganj Campus, in Lucknow. While in school, he secretly prepared for the NDA entrance exam and cleared it successfully.
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After clearing the UPSC exam, he joined the National Defence Academy. In 2005, he graduated with a BSc in Computer Science, laying the foundation for his Air Force career.
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On 17 June 2006, Shukla was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot. This marked the beginning of a long and focused journey in military aviation.
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In the Air Force, he came to be known as “Gunjan.” Though he came from a civilian background, he was determined to make a mark in the defence services.
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To further his technical knowledge, he pursued an MTech in Aerospace Engineering at IISc Bengaluru, one of India’s top research institutions.
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With over 2,000 flying hours, he has flown aircraft like the Su-30MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Hawk. He also served as a test pilot and Fighter Combat Leader.
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Shukla was selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission in 2019. He trained at the Yuri Gagarin Centre in Russia and continued training in Bengaluru until 2021.
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He is set to fly to the ISS for 14 days as a mission pilot on Axiom-4. This mission is part of India’s wider goal to send an Indian to the Moon by 2040.
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