Flying Higher! Meet Avani Chaturvedi, IAF's First Woman Fighter Pilot To Lead Multinational Air Exercise

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) first female fighter pilot, squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi, will participate in a first-ever air exercise called "Veer Guardian-2023", which will be held at Japan's Hyakuri air base and Iruma air base from January 12 to 26. The exercise aims at bolstering air defence cooperation between India and Japan.

Avani's involvement in the air exercise is a first for a female Indian Air Force fighter pilot in a multinational exercise.

Chasing Her Dream Of Flying

In 2016, one year after the air force made the historic decision to let women join the fighter stream, Chaturvedi was one of the first group of three female fighter pilots to be commissioned into the IAF. She is certified to fly the Sukhoi-30 and MiG-21 Bison fighter jets.

Hailing from Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, Chaturvedi was fascinated with the idea of flying a plane when she joined the flying club at her college, Banasthali University in Rajasthan, from where she completed her Bachelor's degree in Technology. This, compared with the motivation from her elder brother who is also an officer in the Indian army, pushed Chaturvedi towards materialising her dream of flying.

Chaturvedi was selected for training at the Air Force Academy in Telangana's Dundigal. She completed her training at the age of 25 and in June 2016, she became a fighter pilot. She was also the first Indian woman pilot to take a solo flight in MiG-21, a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, reported NDTV. The same year, she was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Besides being honoured with a doctorate degree from her alma mater Banasthali University, Chaturvedi was also awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar by former President Ram Nath Kovind in March 2020.

At present, Chaturvedi is posted in Rajasthan's Suratgarh with IAF No, 23 Squadron Panthers.

About Veer-Guardian 2023 Exercise

During the second 2+2 meeting of defence and foreign ministers in Tokyo in September 2022, India and Japan decided to intensify their bilateral defence cooperation and perform additional military drills plans, which included their first air force exercise. They supported Tokyo's efforts to strengthen its defence capabilities over the next five years, reflecting the growing security cooperation between the two sides.

"The inaugural exercise will include the conduct of various aerial combat drills between the two air forces. They will undertake multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment and will exchange best practices. Experts from both sides will also hold discussions to share their expertise on varied operational aspects," the IAF stated, reported Livemint.

The Indian contingent will include four Su-30 MKI, two C-17 heavy-lift aircraft and one IL-78 refueller aircraft, while the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) will be participating with four F-2 and four F-15 aircraft, IAF informed. The exercise will be held at Hyakuri Air Base in Omitama and Iruma Air Base in Sayama.

A woman medical officer is one of the 139 members of the IAF contingent participating in this joint air exercise with Japan.

Following a gender-neutral approach, the three services now offer women officers a raft of opportunities that have given them new hard-earned identities, empowered them and helped bridge the gender gap significantly in a field that was traditionally male-dominated.

Earlier this week, the Indian Army for the first time deployed a woman officer, Captain Shiva Chouhan, at Siachen, the world's highest and coldest battleground.

Also Read: Gender Equality In Ranks! Women Officers Can Now Join IAF's Elite Garud Commando Force