In a first, IAF woman fighter pilot to participate in aerial wargames outside country
Image credit: Dynamite News
The Indian participation in the international aerial wargames will include a female fighter pilot from the Indian Air Force for the first time.
Two female fighter pilots from the French Air Force were among the women officers who participated in wargames with foreign contingents visiting India, but this would be the first time they would be representing their nation abroad.
Squadron Leader Avni Chaturvedi, one of the first three female fighter pilots from India, will soon go to Japan to take part in the exercise. Su-30MKI pilot Squadron Leader Chaturvedi
From January 16 to January 26, the Hyakuri Air Base in Omitama, Japan, and the Iruma Air Base in Sayama, Japan, will host the exercise Veer Guardian 2023.
Squadron Leader Bhavna Kanth, who was a classmate of Chaturvedi’s and one of the trio of first female fighter pilots in the service, described the Su-30MKIs used by the Indian Air Force as one of the best and most deadly platforms equipped with indigenous armament systems.
When asked how it felt to be a female fighter pilot, she responded that the aircraft were unaware of her gender and that she was honoured to be a member of the prestigious force.
The Indian Su-30MKIs are special in that they are outfitted with the best technologies and weapons from around the world, according to ace fighter pilot Group Captain Arpit Kala, who is in charge of a Su-30 fighter aircraft squadron in the desert zone.
The officer claimed that the Indian Air Force’s training is regarded as some of the best in the world, making the aircraft and the pilots some of the best in the world.
The acquisition of the next-generation anti-radiation missiles for the Su-30MKIs, which would allow them to engage enemy radars at distances greater than 100 km, has also been approved by the defence minister.
The only nation in the world that has given its Su-30s such long-range strike capability and has continued to update its fleet with the most recent armaments is India.
The Sukhoi fleet has added a lot of new gear over the past two years, notably the Spice-2000 series precision-guided weapons, which are thought to be particularly potent standoff weaponry.
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