First Women Pilots - IAF Fighter Squadron - Fusion - WeRIndia

For the first time ever, the Indian Air Force announced its first batch of women pilots into its fighter squadron. This historical parade was organized at the Indian Air Force Academy in Hakimpet, Hyderabad. The first three women to have to be commissioned in the fighter stream of the flying branch were, Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth.

They cleared the first stage of training and have about 150 hours of flying. Their stage-III training will happen in Bidar in Karnataka. They will train on the Advanced Jet Fighter – the British-built Hawk for six months. Then they will get to fly supersonic warplanes.

In October last year, as part of an experimental basis for five years, the government approved an IAF plan to induct women as fighter pilots. For this honor, six cadets competed. Here is some more info on the three candidates that were selected.

Avani Chaturvedi

Avani Chaturvedi was born in Satna in Madhya Pradesh. She finished her schooling from Adarsh School in Rewa. She graduated with a BTech in Computer Science from Banasthali University, Jaipur. Her father is an executive engineer with the state government. When she was training, she had to abort her second solo flight sortie minutes before take-off.

Mohana Singh

Mohana Singh was born in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. She did her schooling from Air Force School in New Delhi. She also graduated in BTech Electronics and Communication from Global Institute of Management and Emerging Technologies, Amritsar. Her father is a serving IAF personnel. Even her grandfather served as a flight gunner at Aviation Research Centre.

Bhawana Kanth

Bhawana Kanth was born in Begusarai in Bihar. She finished her schooling from Barauni Refinery DAV Public School. She graduated with a BE in Medical Electronics from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore. Her father is an engineer at Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bhawana.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia