Flying MiG-21 Bison matter of pride: Flt Lt Bhawana Kanth

Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth, one of India's first female fighter pilots, on Sunday said flying MiG-21 Bison fighter jet is a "matter of pride" for her.

"This is a very-very capable aircraft. And to fly one is a matter of pride for me," Kanth told ANI responding to a question about how she felt flying MiG-21 Bison which came to limelight in the aftermath of Balakot airstrikes.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet with his Mig-21 Bison during a dogfight on February 27 last year

Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh too said she was "honoured" to fly the MiG-21 Bison.

MiG-21 Bison is a single-engine, single-seater multirole fighter/ground attack aircraft of the Russian origin.

Being a first or being a woman does not matter but being a fighter pilot matters, says India's one of the first three fighter pilots Flight Lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi said.

Speaking to ANI she said, "We are very lucky that we have got an opportunity to fulfil our dreams because when we joined there was no option for women to join fighters' team."

They are the first three women pilots commissioned into the Fighter Stream with six more having joined the IAF as Fighter Pilots since their pioneering feat.

Last year in February, during the aerial skirmish that erupted after IAF foiled an attempted attack by PAF on India's military installations, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down a much-advanced F-16 while piloting a MiG-21 Bison.