Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth on Wednesday became the first woman pilot of India to be qualified to undertake combat missions by day on a fighter aircraft, Indian Air Force (IAF) announced. “Flt Lt Bhawana Kanth adds another feather to her cap by completing Day Operational syllabus on MiG-21 Bison aircraft. She is the first women fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft,” IAF said in a release. “With her dedication, hard work & perseverance she has become the 1st women Officer to achieve this feat,” it added. Bhawana who is from the first batch of woman fighter pilots of the IAF joined the fighter squadron in Nov 2017 and flew the first solo on MiG-21 Bison in March 2018. Kanth who hails from Darbhanga, Bihar along with Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi were the first three women selected into IAF’s fighter stream in June 2016. IAF has already selected the next batch of three women officers for the fighter stream.
