The Indian Air force, which inducted six women fighter pilots with more to follow, is now going to conduct a thorough study on the feasibility of having women fly combat aircraft.
The experimental scheme to induct women as fighter pilots was initiated in December 2015 for five years and the decision will be up for review in December 2020, when the air force will take the final call on whether to continue it for the long term or not.
According to a senior officer, women, like their male counterparts, volunteer for the job and only make the grade once they pass the comprehensive and tough selection procedure.
All the data related to their training, conversion to fly frontline fighter jets and the way they are utilised are being collected regularly to be analysed, added the officer.
It costs around Rs 15 crore to train a fighter pilot and this reason alone made the air force resist inducting women into the fighter stream because it felt that the tight flying schedule in combat squadrons would be hit if the woman pilot gets married and has children.
The impact of a pilot being absent from flying duties because of the reasons will affect the combat readiness of a fighter squadron and this is one of the factors which will be looked at during the study.
The Indian Air Force will also look at the effect of other factors which are considered 'restrictive' for women pilots and these include: performance under high G-force manoeuvres, aeromedical issues, response to aviation stress, different physiological aspects, adaptability to cockpit ergonomics and survival clothing.
"The study will also look at the response of women applying to become fighter pilots as a profession. Later, we will look at how well they fit into squadron life and how their presence impacts the functioning of the unit," said the officer.
In February, Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi had become the first women in the country to fly a MiG-21 solo and she was followed by Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth. Both have a year of hard training ahead before they can become operational fighter pilots and ready for combat missions.
Four other women combat pilots are at the training stage and will join operational squadrons once their training is complete.
