Bhawana Kanth is IAF's first combat-ready woman fighter pilot

New Delhi, May 22
Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth is now the first woman fighter pilot to qualify for combat missions.

She completed the operational syllabus on Wednesday on MiG-21 Bison jet. Posted in Nal airbase on the border with Pakistan, she is now qualified for night flying operations as well.

Bhawana was one of the three women along with Mohna Singh and Avani Chaturvedi in 2016. Since then, IAF has inducted six women into the fighter stream.

MiG-21 Bison is the same fighter jet that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flew when he downed Pakistan Air Force's F-16 durig an aerial combat on February 27.