Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh had become the first women to become fighter pilots
Female fighter pilots in the IAF are no longer an experiment
According to defence minister Rajnath Singh, what began as an experiment six years ago to allow women to fly fighter planes in the Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to become a core part. He stated that the government has decided to make the experimental scheme to induct women as fighter pilots permanent, which was announced in 2015.
The MoD has decided to convert the Experimental Scheme for Induction of Women Fighter Pilots in the Indian Air Force into a permanent scheme.
It is a testimony to the capability of India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ and our PM Shri @narendramodi’s commitment towards women empowerment.
The MoD has decided to convert the Experimental Scheme for Induction of Women Fighter Pilots in the Indian Air Force into a permanent scheme.
It is a testimony to the capability of India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ and our PM Shri @narendramodi’s commitment towards women empowerment.
The MoD has decided to convert the Experimental Scheme for Induction of Women Fighter Pilots in the Indian Air Force into a permanent scheme.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 1, 2022
It is a testimony to the capability of India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ and our PM Shri @narendramodi’s commitment towards women empowerment.
The decision came months after the Supreme Court opened the way for women to enrol at the famed National Defence Academy (NDA), which had previously been a male-dominated institution, for recruitment into the three services.
In 2018, Indian Air Force flying officer Avani Chaturvedi made history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter plane solo. In her first solo flight, she flew a MiG-21 bison. Ms Chaturvedi was one of three female flying officers commissioned in July 2016, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream to women on a trial basis.
Following the implementation of an experimental system for women’s admission into the IAF’s fighter stream in 2016, a watershed moment in the air force’s history, sixteen women have been commissioned as fighter pilots. An IAF spokesperson added, “The defence ministry has given authorization to make it a permanent scheme.”
The news comes as new opportunities for women in the military have opened up: the navy is moving forward with a plan to give them more opportunities to serve aboard warships alongside their male counterparts, the Indian Army has allowed them to fly helicopters, and they are now eligible for permanent commission.
In June 2022, the National Defence Academy will induct its first group of female cadets. In October 2021, the Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision that allowed women to enter the school.
The Navy announced the deployment of its first group of female pilots on the Dornier maritime aircraft in 2020. It has placed 28 female officers on board 15 frontline vessels, including the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and additional appointments are expected.
Women pilots in the IAF also fly MiG-21s, Sukhoi-30s, and MiG-29 fighters, in addition to the latest Rafale jets. The IAF tableau that participated in the Republic Day parade last week included Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the country’s first Rafale pilot.
“Women fly top-of-the-line fighter planes like Rafales and Su-30s. The choice to make the trial plan permanent reflects their confidence in their talents. “They have excelled in every branch of the Indian Air Force,” stated Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general of the Centre of Air Power Studies.
There are currently about 9,000 women serving in the army, navy, and air force. The number of women in the military forces has nearly tripled in the previous seven years, thanks to the services providing them with more options to advance their careers.
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