The Indian Navy will soon get its first-ever woman pilot, Shubhangi Swaroop, who will be flying a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Though Uttar Pradesh resident Shubhangi is set to be the first Naval woman pilot, the Navy's Aviation branch has had women officers manning the air traffic and as 'observers'. Besides her, three other women cadets -- Astha Segal from New Delhi, Roopa A from Puducherry and Sakthi Maya S from Kerala -- have also been inducted in the Navy's armament division, which was earlier considered a men-only unit.
Astha Segal, Roopa A and Sakthi Maya S created history by becoming the country's first women officers at the Naval Armament Inspectorate (NAI). The NAI is responsible for auditing and assessing the state of weapons and ammunition of the Navy.
After their Naval Orientation course, the four women in their early 20s were among the 328 midshipmen and cadets, who passed out of the Ezhimala Naval Academy at a ceremony Wednesday which was attended by Naval chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.
The Indian Navy started inducting female officers in 1991, but now the areas of induction have been expanded, said Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba.
For Shubhangi, daughter of Naval commander Gyan Swaroop, it's a dream come. She will now head to INS Garuda in Kochi and then graduate to the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, which trains pilots of the Army, Navy and the Air Force. On successful completion of training, she will become the first woman pilot in the maritime reconnaissance stream.
Women in the Navy's Aviation branch have held positions as air traffic controllers and 'observers' in the aircraft who are responsible for communication and weapons, Southern Naval spokesperson Commander Sreedhar Warrier told PTI.
All the four will now be undergoing professional training in their chosen branches before being employed on duty, Commander Warrier added.
Last month, the Indian Air Force inducted three women pilots. Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh were commissioned as flying officers in July last year, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis.
A senior Indian Air Force (IAF) official involved in training of the three women pilots said they will steer the combat jets next month. Currently, the three women pilots are flying advanced Hawk jet trainers.
"On successful completion of training, the three women fighter pilots will be commissioned into the fighter stream in December this year," Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa had said.
He added that "their performance has been on par with other pilots despite the strenuous and demanding nature of flying".
