Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth completes top advanced combat course

Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth has reached another major milestone by becoming the first female fighter pilot to successfully finish the Fighter Combat Leader course. She completed this demanding 20-week program at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment in Gwalior. This intensive training qualifies her to command complex air combat missions and places her among the frontline tacticians of the Indian military.

Historically, combat roles in many global armed forces remained closed to women until recent decades, making her rapid advancement particularly notable. This premier fighter tactics institution often draws comparisons to the famous Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program of the United States Navy. Instructors at the Gwalior facility teach advanced mission planning, air-to-air operations, and leadership during high-intensity scenarios. Only a select group of highly skilled pilots ever make it into this advanced course.

Breaking Barriers in Military Aviation

Hailing from the Darbhanga district of Bihar, she holds an engineering degree and officially joined the military in June 2016. She stood proudly alongside Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh in the first batch of female fighter pilots. She quickly moved on to achieve several important firsts for women in military aviation. By 2019, she gained clearance to carry out daytime fighter combat missions.

Starting her career on the MiG-21 Bison, she later transitioned to flying the powerful Su-30 MKI. Her presence was strongly felt when she became the first female fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day Parade in 2021. She returned to the skies for the Republic Day flypast in 2024. Her latest success shows exactly how women continue to take on crucial combat and leadership roles in modern operational defence scenarios.