Wing Commander S Dhami Becomes First Female Officer To Be Appointed As Flight Commander

Indian Air Force's Wing Commander S Dhami has created history after she becomes the first female officer in the country to become the flight commander of a flying unit.

According to ANI, Dhami has been appointed as the Flight Commander of a Chetak helicopter unit at Hindon airbase. Flight Commander is the second in command of the unit.

She is a permanent commission officer of the flying branch in the Air Force and has been flying choppers.

ANI

The Wing Commander who has clocked over 2300 hours of flying, was also the IAF's first female Qualified Flying instructor for Chetak and Cheetah helicopters.

The Ludhiyana native who has served in the IAF for 15 years was also the first woman officer to be granted permanent commission for a long tenure.

Her elevation as Flight Commander is moving a step closer towards women officers commanding units and formations in the service.

ANI

In fact, in the past few years, women officers have been making huge progress in the fields which were once considered a male bastion.

In May this year, Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh had scripted history after she became the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force, to become operational on a Hawk advanced jet aircraft.

This year also saw another momentous achievement after Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth become the first woman to qualify for combat missions on a fighter jet.

Bhawana who was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as one of the first women fighter pilots in 2016 had joined the fighter squadron in 2017. She flew solo on MiG-21 Bison last year and is now posted at the Nal base in Rajasthan's Bikaner.