In a boost to women’s empowerment, Squadron Leader Mohana Singh has been chosen as the first female fighter pilot to fly the “Made in India” LCA Tejas.
Mohana Singh is among India’s first woman fighter pilots and a member of the historic women’s fighter stream in the Indian Air Force. She previously flew the MiG-21 and later joined the prestigious “Flying Bullets” squadron at Nalia Air Base in Gujarat.
Singh, who comes from a military family in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, made history in 2019 as the first woman pilot to fly a ‘Hawk’ aircraft during the day. She received the Nari Shakti Award in 2020.
Mohana Singh’s grandfather was a flight gunner at the Aviation Research Center (ARC), a special branch of the Indian Air Force (IAF) responsible for reconnaissance and surveillance. Her father is a warrant officer in the IAF, carrying forward the family’s association with the Air Force and military service.
In 2016, Mohana Singh became the first woman to join the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot along with Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi. This was a significant moment for Indian aviation history, as it officially inducted women into the role of fighter pilots.
Earlier, women had been working as pilots for helicopters and transport aircraft since 1991, but the role of a fighter pilot was still predominantly male. In 2019, Mohana Singh made history by becoming the first woman in the Indian Air Force to fly a “Hawk” aircraft in daylight. She was one of the three flight lieutenants who were awarded the 2020 Nari Shakti Puraskar.
