Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth Became First Woman 'Top Gun' Pilot of Indian Air Force (IAF)

Key facts

• Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth of the Indian Air Force (IAF) became the first woman fighter pilot to complete the Fighter Combat Leader (FCL) course at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) in Gwalior.
• The FCL course is a 20-week advanced combat programme reserved for a select group of fighter pilots and qualifies them to lead complex air combat missions.
• TACDE is the IAF's premier fighter tactics institution and is considered comparable to the United States Navy's 'Top Gun' programme, officially called the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme.
• Bhawana Kanth hails from Darbhanga district, Bihar, and is an engineering graduate; she was commissioned into the IAF in June 2016 as part of the country's first batch of women fighter pilots, alongside Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh.
• In 2019, she became the first Indian woman cleared to undertake daytime fighter combat missions, and she initially flew the MiG-21 Bison before transitioning to the Su-30 MKI.
• She became the first woman fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day Parade in 2021 and flew in the Republic Day flypast in 2024.