Avani Chaturvedi Takes The Lead As India’s First Female Fighter Pilot

This past week saw Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi break all sorts of barriers; be it the sound barrier or the Air Force gender barrier. She made history when she became the first woman in the Indian Air Force’s history to fly a fighter jet, the MiG-21 Bison. The 24 year old cleared her first ever solo sortie in 30 minutes. “My heartiest congratulations to Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi for successfully clearing her first solo sortie on a MiG-21 ‘Bison’ fighter. The IAF has always taken a lead in providing an equal platform to women officers. It’s a red letter day for the country,” Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa told Times Of India. On June 18, 2016, Chaturvedi, along with two other women, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, became the first female fighter pilot to be inducted into the Indian Air Force. The other two women will also soon be completing their solo sorties.

Hailing from Satna, a small town near Rewaa, Madhya Pradesh, Chaturvedi was born on October 3rd 1993. Her father works as an engineer with the Madhya Pradesh government and her mother is a homemaker. Completing her schooling near her hometown, she already had a BTech degree when she joined the Hyderabad Air Force Academy. She worked at IBM for a short while after graduating before quitting it to join the IAF, according to First Post.

Avani Chaturvedi has always been a flying aficionado. She earlier told the Times of India, “Any air force is defined by its fighters. My dream is to become a good fighter pilot, on whom my seniors can rely when it comes to flying live operations. I want to fly the best fighter aircraft and learn more and more each day.” She had joined the flying club back in college and finally realized her dream when she cleared the IAF exams.

Having undergone intense training for more than a year since their induction, the trio said the level of excellence expected of them was the same as men. “We are giving our 100 per cent all the time. The challenges and rigours of the training schedule are the same,” they told The Hindu.

In October 2015, for the first time in Indian history, the IAF opened its doors for women in the fighter pilot stream on a 5 year experimental basis. This was a major breakthrough for gender equality in the former all male squadrons. The next three trainee pilots have already been chosen by the IAF for their next batch, according to FirstPost. This will hopefully pave the way for every young Indian woman hoping to one day serve her country as an IAF fighter pilot, a feat that was earlier perceived to be impossible.

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