Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi has created history by becoming the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo.

Meet Avani Chaturvedi: India's first-ever Indian woman to fly MiG-21 solo

Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi has created history by becoming the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo.


Chaturvedi flew a MiG-21 bison in her first training solo sortie, in Jamnagar, Gujarat. It is pertinent to mention here that MiG-21 Bison has the highest landing and take-off speed in the world - 340 kmph.

Chaturvedi completed her training at Hyderabad Air Force Academy. She did her schooling from Deoland, a small town in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. Completing her Bachelors in Technology from Banasthali University, Rajasthan in 2014, she passed

Chaturvedi is inspired by her brother who is in the Army. She always wanted to conquer the skies and hence joined the Flying Club in her college. Chaturvedi's achievement has put India on the list of the countries such as Britain, the United States, Israel, and Pakistan, where women are allowed to fly fighter jets.

It was in October 2015 that the Government took the decision to open the fighter stream for women. Meanwhile, combat roles in the Army and the Navy are still off-limits for women, due to a combination of operational concerns and logistical constraints.

In the IAF since 1993, women officers have been inducted in all branches and stream as Short Service Commissioned Officers except in the fighter stream. However, IAF has revised Short Service Commission scheme to induct women into the fighter stream on experimental basis for five years.