Etching their names in the history books, India’s first three women fighter pilots will be formally commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 18 June.
Flight Cadets Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh are the first batch of Women Flight Cadets undergoing training for commissioning in the Fighter Stream of IAF Flying Branch.
For Bhawana Kanth, flying has been a childhood dream. Little did she know that she would not only live her dreams, but also make Indian history.
Kanth, who belongs to Darbhanga in Bihar, says that she has always dreamed of flying like a free bird, a dream that inspired her to join the Indian Air Force.
After clearing my Stage I training, I got golden opportunity to opt for fighter stream, the best and the biggest thing that has happened to me, and the best part is, it is just the beginning.
While women pilots have been flying helicopters and transport aircraft since 1991 in the IAF, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who finally took the decision to open the cockpits of fighter aircraft to women.
Born at Satna in MP, Avani Chaturvedi did her graduation in B Tech. (Computer Science) and has always been inspired by the military life of Army officers in her family. It’s also what got her to join the force.
“My dream is to become a good fighter pilot, on whom my seniors can rely on when it comes to flying for live operations. I want to fly the best fighter aircraft and learn more and more each day.”
“My father is currently serving in IAF and my mother is a teacher by profession,” says an elated Mohana Singh who loves to sing, sketch and read in her free time.
She wishes to carry on the family legacy of serving the nation by being in Defence.
I remember the small puffs of beautiful crackers bursting 1000 feet below me on my first take off in night flying phase. The ones I used to gaze at from below and was amazed at when I was a child.
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