As a little girl, Bhawana Kanth would run after jets in the sky, watching them until they disappeared into the horizon. Years later, that fascination with flying would take her into the cockpit of a fighter aircraft and, eventually, into the ranks of specialised combat leadership.
In August 2026, Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth became the first woman officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) to qualify as a Fighter Combat Leader, completing advanced training at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) in Gwalior.
For a woman who once assumed that joining the armed forces automatically meant flying fighter jets, the achievement marks another milestone in a career that has helped change what women can aspire to in Indian military aviation.
SHE DIDN’T KNOW WOMEN COULDN’T FLY FIGHTERS
Kanth has recalled that her childhood ambition came without much awareness of the barriers women faced in combat aviation.
“I had no idea that women don’t get fighters. So, for me it was like, if we are going to the army, we will definitely fly fighters,” she told CNBC-TV18.
She discovered the reality only after joining the academy. Women were not then being inducted into the fighter stream, but her ambition remained unchanged.
The turning point came in 2016, when the IAF opened the fighter pilot stream to women. Kanth was commissioned alongside Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh as one of India’s first three women fighter pilots.
FROM HER FIRST SOLO FLIGHT TO COMBAT LEADERSHIP
Kanth joined a fighter squadron in 2017 and completed her first solo flight on the MiG-21 Bison in March 2018. In May 2019, she became the first woman fighter pilot in India qualified to undertake missions on a fighter aircraft by day.
She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2020 and became the first woman fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day parade and flypast in 2021.
Her latest qualification takes her career into another demanding phase. The Fighter Combat Leader course prepares pilots for advanced air combat, tactical planning and leadership in complex missions. Kanth has also transitioned from flying the MiG-21 Bison to the Sukhoi-30MKI.
Her journey, therefore, is not just about entering a profession that was once closed to women. It is about progressing through training and earning specialised qualifications within it.
HER ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN: LEARN TO FAIL
Asked what she would tell young women considering a career in the armed forces, Kanth offered advice that goes beyond military aviation.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18 for its Future Female Forward series, she said people should not be afraid of failure or of being ridiculed for making mistakes.
“In all of our careers, there is only one way, and there is and all along the journey you are going to fail, no doubt about it. Please don’t let it put you down. Just fail, fall, and get back up and just never give up,” she said.
We salute the determination and courage of our #FirstLadies winner, Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth @IAF_MCC #NariShakti #SheInspiresMe #MinistryWCD https://t.co/C887jYmkuY https://t.co/vqH2oEh7h8— Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) March 8, 2018
She added that confidence comes from accepting that failure is part of the journey. “And so fail forward.”
For students and young professionals, the message is particularly relevant. Career paths rarely unfold exactly as planned, and setbacks can be part of learning a new skill, clearing a difficult examination or entering an unfamiliar field.
Kanth’s own journey involved an ambition that initially seemed out of reach, a policy change that created an opportunity, and years of training to progress further.
She summed up her experience by saying that unconventional careers remain unconventional only until they become the norm.
From chasing aircraft as a child to qualifying for a specialised combat leadership role, Kanth’s journey shows how an opportunity can become the starting point for the next generation to aim higher.
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