1. Indian armed forces have been working towards being more inclusive of female soldiers and pilots, and now, Indian Navy has its first batch of woman pilots for Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) missions on Dornier aircraft.
2. The pilots completed Dornier Operational Flying Training (DOFT) on October 20 at INS Garuda in Kerala’s Kochi.
3. Operationalised by southern naval command, the three women are Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop, Lt. Divya Sharma and Lt Shivangi.
4. They graduated as fully operational MR pilots at a ceremony held at INS Garuda on October 22, upon the completion of the course.
5. The pilots had undergone basic flying training with the Indian Air force as well as the Indian Navy, prior to the DOFT course.
6. Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Tilhar and Lt Divya Sharma from Malviya Nagar in New Delhi.