India Will Have Women Fighter Pilots – Air Force Chief Arup Raha. India will have women fighter pilots in the near future, Air Force chief Arup Raha has said. The announcement came on Thursday, the 83rd anniversary of the birth of the Indian Air Force. With this, women Air Force pilots would be brought into combat roles for the first time.
Air Chief Marshal Raha reviewed the IAF Day parade and flypast at the Hindon Air Force Station, to the northeast of Delhi. “We have women pilots flying transport aircraft and helicopters. We are now planning to induct them into the fighter stream to meet the aspirations of young women of India,” he said.India till now has not allowed women officers, who have been serving in the armed forces since the early-1990s, to have any combat role. So, while they could fly transport aircraft and helicopters in the Air Force, women pilots could not tear into the skies as fighter pilots.
Women officers in the other two services too have been kept away from combat roles. In the Navy, they cannot serve on warships and in the Army, they cannot join the infantry, armoured corps or artillery.
With technological advancements making traditional attributes like physical toughness redundant for fighting roles, women officers have been making a push to be allowed to take up an increased role in the armed forces. Also, flying fighters is of a significantly different nature from ground combat roles in close proximity to enemy forces.
A number of women pilots have proven themselves flying helicopters and transport aircraft in high-risk rescue and other missions. Some women pilots have also flown sorties of AN-32 aircraft to the Advanced Landing Ground at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh. DBO, the world’s highest landing ground at 16,500 feet, is close to the frontline and is a critical supply line to troops posted at the Siachen Glacier.
Women pilots have also proven themselves with the Ilyushin IL-76 hheavy-lift transport aircraft, referred to in the Air Force as ‘Gajraj’, in difficult sorties to Leh.
A major hindrance till now, according to the top military brass, was that it took well over Rs 13 crore to train a single fighter pilot, with the huge investment being recovered over 13-14 years of active flying. Women fighter pilots, it was stressed, may get married, have children, and consequently disrupt the IAF’s tight flying schedules.
But there is a rethink in the IAF now, with women officers also increasingly winning their legal battles for permanent commission in the armed forces, instead of being allowed to serve just 14-15 years as short service commission officers.
