Who became the first woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force to qualify for combat missions?

In May 2019, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth became the first woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to qualify to fly combat missions by day. She completed the required training on the MiG-21 "Bison" fighter aircraft.

About Bhawana Kanth:

• She is from Darbhanga in Bihar.
• She was one of the first three women fighter pilots of the IAF, commissioned in June 2016, along with Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh.
• She later took part in the Republic Day parade (2021) as part of the IAF tableau, becoming the first woman fighter pilot to do so.

Background: women in the Indian Air Force:

• The government opened the fighter stream of the IAF to women in 2015, initially on an experimental basis for five years; this was later made permanent.
• The first batch of three women fighter pilots (Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh) was commissioned on 18 June 2016.
• Avani Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo, in a MiG-21 Bison in February 2018.
• Mohana Singh later became the first woman pilot to join a squadron flying the indigenous LCA Tejas fighter.
• Shivangi Singh became the first woman pilot to fly the Rafale fighter (2020).
• Gunjan Saxena was one of the first women helicopter pilots in combat zones; she flew in the Kargil war (1999), and a film was made on her life.
• Women can now join the National Defence Academy (NDA) (since 2021-22) and the armed forces in many more combat roles.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Avani Chaturvedi was the first Indian woman to fly a fighter jet solo (2018).
• ✗Mohana Singh was one of the first three women fighter pilots.
• ✗Gunjan Saxena was a helicopter pilot in the Kargil war.