Delay pregnancy, IAF tells women fighter pilots

Continuous training is required for a minimum of five years for fighter pilots, men or women, to become combat ready, says IAF

New Delhi: The three cadets who will be inducted in the Indian Air Force on June 18 as the first batch of women fighter pilots. PTI Photo (PTI3_8_2016_000351B)

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has advised its women trainees, soon to be commissioned as India's first women fighter pilots, to avoid pregnancy for four years given the rigorous training schedule involved.

This was stated by Vice Chief of the IAF Air Marshal B. S. Dhanoa on the side-lines of a media interaction on Thursday.

Early this week Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Arup Raha had announced that the India would get its first women fighter pilots on June 18. An official said that an advisory is not legally binding and “in this instance it is to ensure their own professional growth otherwise they will achieve an operational fighter pilot status very late.”

Bhawna Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh have volunteered for the fighter stream and are currently undergoing the second phase of their training.

In October last year Defence Ministry had announced its decision to open up combat arms in the military to women, beginning with the IAF.

Published - March 11, 2016 04:53 pm IST