On a maiden occasion, IAF woman fighter pilot Squadron Leader Avni Chaturvedi to join aerial wargames in Japan

New Delhi, Jan 7: For the first time, an Indian Air Force ( IAF ) woman fighter pilot would be part of the Indian contingent for the aerial wargames to be held with outside the country.

 

 

 

 

The women officers have been participating in wargames with the foreign contingents coming to India including the French Air Force where two of the lady fighter pilots took part but this would be the first time they would be representing the country on foreign land. India's one of the first three lady fighter pilots, Squadron Leader Avni Chaturvedi will be leaving for Japan shortly for participating in the exercise. Squadron Leader Chaturvedi is a Su-30MKI pilot.

 

 

 

 

 

The exercise Veer Guardian 2023 will be carried out from January 16 to January 26 at the Hyakuri Air Base and its surrounding airspace in Omitama, and the Iruma Air Base in Sayama in Japan. Chaturvedi's batchmate and part of the troika of first female fighter pilots in the force Squadron Leader Bhavna Kanth termed the Su-30MKIs operated by the Indian Air Force as one of the best and most lethal platforms armed with indigenous weapon systems. "The Su-30MKi is a versatile multirole combat aircraft which can carry out both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions simultaneously."

 

 

"What is unique about this aircraft is that it can carry out manoeuvres at both high speeds and low speeds. It also has the capability of doing very long-range missions due to multiple refuelling it can do and it has very long endurance," Squadron Leader Bhavna Kanth shared with ANI in an exclusive interaction. She said the aircraft has the latest avionics and can easily integrate any of the latest weapons easily and can carry out missions with ease.