Abhilasha Barak is an officer in the Indian Army from Haryana. She completed her graduation from Delhi Technological University in 2016. She did her training from Officers Training Academy Chennai in 2017. She is known for becoming the first woman combat aviator in the Indian Army in 2022. She completed her one year of training from the Combat Army Aviation Training School at Nashik in Maharashtra. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Barak is from Rohtak, Haryana. She is the daughter of a retired colonel. [5] [6] She was born in Military Hospital, Wellington when her father was undergoing a course at Defence Services Staff College. She was commissioned into the Army Air Defence Corps in September 2018. She lead the contingent for Corps of Army Air Defence with great pride on 28 Sep 2019 when former President Ram Nath Kovind awarded the President's Colours to the Corps on completion of 25 years of service. [7]
Wing commander is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
The Indian Defence services have established numerous academies and staff colleges across India for the purpose of training professional soldiers in military sciences, warfare command and strategy, and associated technologies.
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting. A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace.
Nivedita Bhasin of Indian Airlines became the youngest woman pilot in world civil aviation history to command a commercial jet aircraft on 1 January 1990 at the age of 26. Bhasin piloted IC-492 on the Bombay-Aurangabad-Udaipur sector.
This list is about women in warfare and the military from 1945 to 1999, worldwide.
This article is about women in warfare and the military (2000–present) throughout the world outside the United States. For women in warfare and the military in the United States since 2000, please see: Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010 and Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2011–present.
Marie Therese Rossi-Cayton was the first woman in American military history to serve in combat as an aviation unit commander, during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and the first woman pilot in United States history to fly combat missions. She was killed when the CH-47 Chinook she was piloting crashed in Saudi Arabia, on March 1, 1991.
Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner was an American pilot and one of the first six women to earn their wings as a United States Naval Aviator in 1974. She was the first female military pilot to fly a tactical jet and the first to achieve command of an operational aviation squadron.
The Army Aviation Corps (AAC) is the youngest arm of the Indian Army, being formally designated on 1 November 1986. The Army Aviation Corps units are designated as Squadrons. Each squadron generally consists of two Flights. Reconnaissance (Recce) and Observation flights might be part of squadrons or operate independently. The latter do not have a parent squadron and are designated by an (I) in their name.
The recent history of changes in women's roles includes having women in the military. Every country in the world permits the participation of women in the military, in one form or another. In 2018, only two countries conscripted women and men on the same formal conditions: Norway and Sweden. A few other countries have laws conscripting women into their armed forces, however with some difference such as service exemptions, length of service, and more. Some countries do not have conscription, but men and women may serve on a voluntary basis under equal conditions. Alenka Ermenc was the first female head of armed forces in any of the NATO member states, having served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces between 2018 and 2020.
Seema Rao is popularly known as “Wonder Woman of India” amongst the Indian media. She is India's first female special forces trainer, having trained Special Forces of India for over two decades without compensation. She is an expert in close quarter battle (CQB) — the art of fighting in tight proximity — and is involved in training various Indian forces. She works in partnership with Major Deepak Rao, her husband.
Sally D. Murphy is a retired colonel who served as a United States Army Aviator. She was the first female U.S. Army helicopter pilot to graduate from flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama on June 4, 1974. She served as a leader for units within the 330th Army Security Agency Company, 1st Infantry Division, the 62nd Aviation Company, and the 78th Aviation Battalion. In 2009, Murphy received the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute Veteran Commendation to commemorate her 27 years of service and her place in military history.
This is a timeline of women in aviation which describes many of the firsts and achievements of women as pilots and other roles in aviation. Women who are part of this list have piloted vehicles, including hot-air balloons, gliders, airplanes, dirigibles and helicopters. Some women have been instrumental in support roles. Others have made a name for themselves as parachutists and other forms of flight-related activities. This list encompasses women's achievements from around the globe.
Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi is an Indian pilot from Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was declared as the first female combat pilot in India along with two of her cohorts, Mohana Singh Jitarwal, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 18 June 2016, to serve the nation.
In the Indian Armed Forces women are allowed to join mainly in combat service support branches and in non combatant roles. The Indian Air Force had 13.09% female officers in 2018 and 8.50% female officers in 2014; the Indian Navy had 6% female officers in 2018 and 3% female officers in 2014 and the Indian Army had 3.80% female officers in 2018 and 3% female officers in 2014. In 2020, three officers had the rank of lieutenant-general or equivalent, all in the Medical Services. In May 2021, 83 women were inducted as sepoys for the first time in the Indian Army's Corps of Military Police. On 30 March 2023, 273 women were inducted in the Indian Navy as sailos for the first time in the history of the Indian Navy, total 2,585 agniveers passed out after successful completion of training from INS Chilka. The Indian Air Force got airwomen for the first time in its history on 7 March 2024 as 153 female agniveers passed out from the Airmen Training School, Belagavi with 2,127 male agniveers.
Tammie Jo Shults is an American retired commercial airline captain, author, and former naval aviator. She was one of the first female fighter pilots to serve in the United States Navy. Following active duty she became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. She retired from Southwest Airlines in 2020.
Captain Ruchi Sharma is a former paratrooper in the Indian Army. She retired from the Army in 2003 and is now an educationist.
Zoya Agarwal is an Indian commercial pilot who has flown for Air India. In 2021, Agarwal captained an all-woman crew making the inaugural flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, one of the longest non-stop air routes in the world.