Ceremony for pilots who completed their combat training in Israel. Photo: IAF.

A former female model who moved to Israel from St. Petersburg, Russia, when she was 18 months old, is about to get her “wings” and become a combat aviator for the Israeli Air Force.

Identified by Israel’s Channel 2 news as “A. Afula”, the pilot received an undergraduate degree from college before entering into training with the IAF.

“It was very difficult,” Channel 2 in Israel quotes her as saying. “I was not happy only a few girls stayed, but I’m happy that I finished – I gained a lot of knowledge and I learned a lot during this period.”

The soon to be combat pilot is one of six children, and has studied physics, English, Arabic and mathematics.

“She knew the chance to be accepted and and fly was not high but she did it,” her mother said.