Growing women’s power in IAF on display

Amid the growing number of women pilots and ground crew in the Indian Air Force, the female forces are operating fighter aircraft and choppers extensively in the eastern sector over Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Indian Air Force officials in eastern command said the female pilots and ground crew officers are deployed across the country and operate in all types of terrain, from the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen glacier sector, to the easternmost landing ground in Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh in support of troops and the local population.
“We have had brilliant women who have broken the glass ceiling and paved the way for us to follow our dreams to serve the country,” said Flight Lieutenant Tejaswi, who deservedly became the newsmaker of the week.
“It is no longer a unique experience to have women in the fighter aircraft fleet. Everyone, including men and women, works and trains equally hard. We are on equal footing. In the skies and on the base, we are all first and foremost air warriors, and everything else comes after that,” she said.
The first time the Indian Air Force allowed women in the fighter stream was when three females, including Avni Chaturvedi and Bhawna Kanth, were commissioned in the fighter stream. Later, Kanth became the first person to fly a solo sortie in a MiG-21, while Shivangi Singh went on to fly Rafale planes.
ALH Dhruv Mark 3 pilot Flight Lieutenants Ani Awasthi and A Nain regularly fly their ALH choppers over the Arunachal Pradesh sector through thick forests and close to the LAC.
These pilots are doing a great job, and for us in the IAF, they are air warriors first who have to handle the machines well to perform the assigned tasks, an Eastern Command official said.
The Indian Air Force has more than 1300 female officers working on ground and air duties.