AMN /
Chief of Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha today said that IAF is now planning to induct women into the fighter aircraft stream. He was speaking at a function at Hinddon Air Base to mark the celebrations of IAF’s 83rd anniversary. The plan to induct women into a fighting arm is a first in the three services which were earlier not open to the idea of women taking part in combat role.
IAF currently has women in seven areas of administration, logistics, meteorology, navigation, education, aeronautical engineering — mechanical and electrical — and accounts. The air force currently has about 1500 women on its rolls of which 94 are pilots and 14 navigators. The move is in sync with global trends and will help IAF overcome shortage of officers in the fighter aircraft stream.