First three women Air Force fighter pilots to be commissioned in December

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force is set to get its first three women fighter pilots commissioned in December 2017, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Thursday. Flying Officers Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh are the first women pilots in IAF’s history who will be getting the honour of flying fighter jets like the Sukhoi and Tejas. The trio was inducted into the force in 2016. 

First three women fighter pilots will be commissioned in December this year: Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa pic.twitter.com/KuFoBNyyAZ

— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2017

Bhawna Kanth:
She was inclined towards joining the NDA but since women were not allowed there, she completed her engineering in Medical Electronics stream from BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru. While she was placed with IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), she qualified for IAF through a Short Service Commission examination. She also tried her luck with modelling during her college days.

Photo: Avani Chaturvedi, Bhavana Kanth and Mohana Singh with the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar after they were inducted in the Indian Air Force

Avani Chaturvedi: 
Born at Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Avani's father is an executive engineer while her mother is a homemaker. She completed her BTech in Computer Science from Banasthali University in Jaipur. Belonging to an Army background, Avani was always inclined towards joining the armed forces. Her flying experience in the flying club of her college inspired her to join the IAF. 

Mohana Singh:
Mohana hails from Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan. She pursued BTech in electronics and communication engineering at the Global Institute of Management and Emerging Technologies in Amritsar. She had completed her schooling from the Air Force School. Her father is serving in IAF and her grandfather was a flight gunner in the Aviation Research Centre.

While the trio will make history by being commisioned into the IAF in December, they will soon be joined by Rashi Raina, Shivangi Singh and Pratibha, who are being trained on Kiran Mark-II aircraft at the Air Force Station Hakimpet. The new entrants in the club will be commissioned into the IAF after the completion of their training.