The Indian Navy has prepared a batch of three female pilots for the first time, adding one more page to its history book. A defence spokesman said on Thursday that these pilots will fly Dornier aircraft and carry out maritime reconnaissance operations. Their posting has been done in Kochi under the Southern Naval Command. This batch consists of Lt Divya Sharma (Delhi), Lt Shubhangi Swaroop (Uttar Pradesh) and Lt Shivangi (Bihar).
All pilots were given basic flying training in turn in the Air Force and Navy before being sent to the DOFT. The course included one month of ground training, eight months of flying training. All the pilots were sent to Dornier Squadron for flying training.
Rear Admiral Antoine George, Chief Staff Officer (Training), Southern Naval Command was the chief guest of this passing out program. Rear Admiral George awarded these pilots who are now fully qualified to fly Dornier aircraft for all operational missions.
Of the three women pilots who qualified for operational duty, Lieutenant Shivangi first qualified for Naval Pilot on December 2, 2019. 15 days later, Lieutenant Divya Sharma and Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop also became pilots.
