Bhawana Kanth To Become The First Female Fighter Pilot To Take Part In Republic Day Parade

Bhawana Kanth becomes first female fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day parade. The news was delivered by the officials on Monday. Bhawana will be making a debut alongside other fighter pilots named Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh. In addition to this, the trio became the first fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016. India's Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar himself commissioned them.

Bhawana Kanth will be involved in demonstrating mock-ups of light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and the Sukhoi-30 fighter plane on 26th January. "I had been watching the Republic Day Parade on television and now now I am going to be a part of it. It is a matter of pride for me," said Bhawana.

Something More About Bhawana Kanth

Bhawana Kanth hails from Darbhanga, Bihar was raised in the Refinery Township, Begusarai. Her father was an engineer who worked in IOCL in the Refinery Township. She was schooled in Barauni Refinery DAV Public School, and completed her engineering in medical electronics from BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru.

Kanth who has always been passionate about flying cleared the Air Force Common Admission Test and became a part of the Air Force. Sh decided to join the Fighter squadron in November 2017 and even flew a MiG-21 Bison on her own in March 2020.

Before that, Bhawana had completed her six month long stage-II training on Kiran Intermediate Jet Trainers at Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad in June 2016. She then became a Flying Officer at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal.

Bhawana is currently based at an airbase in Bikaner and flies the MiG-21 Bison fighter plane.

Besides flying, she also loves to indulge in sports like badminton and volleyball. She also loves travelling, swimming and photography.

Honours

On 9th March 2020, President Ram Nath Kovind bestowed the Nari Shakti Puruskar Award upon her.

Bhawana Kanth has also become the first female pilot who will be undertaking combat missions.

Take a look at women who are a part of India's armed forces here.

Pic Credit: Business Standard

Also Read: Here's What You Need To Know About The Upcoming Republic Day Parade 2021