#DeshKiBeti Bhawana Kanth to become the First Woman Fighter Pilot to Participate in Republic Day Parade
Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth is all set to become the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade, 2021. She will be part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) tableau showcasing indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter Rudra, Rohini radars and BrahMos.
Bhawana Kanth is also one of the first women fighter pilots in the IAF. She, along with Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh, was inducted into the IAF as the first women fighter pilots in 2016. Bhawana has also taken the solo flight of Mig-21 ‘Bison’ in 2018. In May 2019, she created history by becoming the first woman to qualify for combat missions on a fighter jet.
Bhawana Kanth was born on 1 December 1992 in Darbhanga, Bihar. She completed her Bachelor of Engineering in 2014. She took the Air Force Common Admission Test and was selected to be commissioned into the Air Force. After clearing Stage I training, she got the opportunity to opt for the fighter stream. In June 2016, Bhawana underwent a six month long stage-II training after which she got commissioned as Flying Officer.
On March 9th, 2020, she was awarded with Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind.
