IAF to conduct trial of landing facility on South Kashmir’s highway
Elaborate security and safety arrangements have been made by the authorities who have deployed mobile radars, CCTVs and other sophisticated equipment for the smooth trial.
Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal has become the first Indian woman flight engineer after she completed the course at 112 Helicopter Unit, Air Force Station, Yelahanka, on Friday.
Commissioned on 5 January 2015, in the engineering branch of the IAF, she served as chief of firing team and battery commander in a frontline Surface to Air Missile squadron before being selected for the prestigious course, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.
She trained shoulder to shoulder with her male counterparts, displaying unflinching commitment, dedication and perseverance during the six month long gruelling course.
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Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal, who hails from Chandigarh, completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree from Panjab University. The only daughter of Mr DK Jaiswal and Mrs Anita Jaiswal, Hina describes her achievement as a “dream come true”. Since childhood, she had aspired to don the soldier’s uniform and to take to the skies as an aviator.
“My achievement as the first woman flight engineer is a dream come true as I had aspired from childhood to wear a soldier’s uniform and take to sky as an aviator,” the statement said quoting Hina.
She would now be posted to operational helicopter units and be routinely called upon to operate in demanding conditions right from the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier to the Andaman seas.
“I am enthusiastic about my stint in aviation and look forward to embrace the challenges in the service,” Hina said.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has since 1993 commissioned several women in the officer cadre inducting many of them as pilots to operate military aircraft and choppers.
The flight engineer branch was opened to women officers in 2018.
“A flight engineer is a member of an aircraft’s flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems requiring a specialised skill set,” said the statement.
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