IAF’s Rafale fleet to have first woman pilot soon
| Date :22-Sep-2020 |
NEW DELHI ;
A WOMAN fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force will soon join the Golden Arrows squadron operating the newly-inducted Rafale fighter jets, official sources said on Monday. The woman pilot is undergoing training to fly Rafale aircraft, they said. She has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected for the Rafale fleet following an internal process, the sources said. At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875. Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements.
The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected on September 10 last year. The squadron was originally raised at Air Force station, Ambala on October 1, 1951. The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire. Five French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the Indian Air Force on September 10 at the Ambala air force base. Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots. The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.
A second batch of four to five Rafale jets are likely to arrive in India by November. The Rafale jets are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia. The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
Sub Lt. Riti Singh, Sub Lt. Kumudini Tyagi, the first women airborne tacticians who will operate from deck of warships pose for pictures at Southern Naval Command in Kochi on Monday. (PTI)
Two women officers to operate helicopters from warships
KOCHI,
Sept 21 (PTI)
IN A first, two women officers have been selected to join as ‘Observers’ (Airborne Tacticians) in the Indian Navy’s helicopter stream that would ultimately pave the way for women being posted in frontline warships. Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Kumudini Tyagi and SLt Riti Singh would, in effect, be the first set of women airborne tacticians in India who would operate from the deck of warships. Earlier, entry of women was restricted to the fixed wing aircraft that took off and landed ashore.
The two are a part of a group of 17 officers of the Navy, including four women officers and three officers of the Indian Coast Guard, who were awarded ‘Wings’ on graduating as ‘Observers’ at a ceremony held on Monday at INS Garuda, here, a Defence statement said. The group comprised 13 officers of Regular batch and four woman officers of Short Service Commission batch. The ceremony was presided over by Rear Admiral Antony George, Chief Staff Officer (Training) who presented the awards and coveted wings to the graduating officers. In addition, the chief guest also awarded the Instructor Badge to six other officers, (five from the Indian Navy including a woman and another from Indian Coast Guard) who had successfully graduated as Qualified Navigation Instructors (QNI).
The Rear Admiral Antony highlighted the fact that it was a landmark occasion wherein for the first-time women are going to be trained in helicopter operations which would ultimately pave way for the deployment of women in frontline warships of Indian Navy. The officers of the 91st Regular course and 22nd SSC Observer course were trained in air navigation, flying procedures, tactics employed in air warfare, anti- submarine warfare and exploitation of airborne avionic systems. These officers would serve on-board Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, the statement said.