Squadron Leader Mohana Singh has scripted history as she became the first female fighter pilot in India to fly the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. She has joined the elite 18 'Flying Bullets' squadron, which operates the LCA Tejas.
She was the first woman fighter pilot to be inducted into a fighter squadron about eight years ago. Mohana Singh was part of the initial trio of female fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force, alongside Squadron Leaders Bhawana Kanth and Avni Chaturvedi. In the early days, the three pilots flew various aircraft from the Air Force's fighter fleet. Currently, Kanth and Chaturvedi are flying the Su-30 MKI fighter jets in the western desert.
Mohana Singh fly Tejas
The officer participated in the recent 'Tarang Shakti' exercise (a multi-phase military exercise) in Jodhpur, where she took part in a historic flight alongside the three Vice Chiefs of the Armed Forces. Until recently, she was flying the MiG-21s and has now been posted to the LCA squadron stationed at Naliya air base in the Gujarat sector, along the border with Pakistan.
During the historic flight, Mohana Singh was observed instructing the Army and Navy Vice Chiefs in the LCA Tejas fighter jet and assisting them with their preparations. Indian Air Force Vice Chief, Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, flew solo in the LCA Tejas fighter variant, while the other two Vice Chiefs, Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani and Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, flew the trainer variants with two fighter pilots.
Since the government opened the fighter stream to women in 2016, the Indian Air Force now has around 20 women fighter pilots.
(With ANI inputs)
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