Meet Bhawana Kanth, the first woman fighter pilot to take part in Republic Day parade

In a proud moment for India, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth, one of the country's first female fighter pilots, took part in the Republic Day parade on January 26 at Rajpath. She is the first woman pilot to do so.

Kanth was a part of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) tableau that showcased mock-ups of the light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and the Sukhoi-30 fighter jet. Posted at an airbase in Rajasthan, she flies the MiG-21 Bison fighter plane at present.

Kanth hails from Darbhanga in Bihar. She was born and brought up in Begusarai, where her father worked as an engineer in IOCL. She completed her schooling at the Barauni Refinery DAV Public School and graduated with a bachelor of engineering in medical electronics from BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru. Other than flying planes, Kanth loves playing badminton, volleyball, and adventure sports and is also interested in photography, cooking, swimming, and travelling.

After clearing Stage I training, she got the opportunity to opt for the fighter stream. Sharing her story of overcoming fear, Kanth has recalled her first experience of the spin solo on fighter aircraft Kiran. She says she entered the aircraft into a spin and recovered it all by herself at 20,000 feet, doubt started creeping into her mind as to what if the aircraft didn't recover.

Rafale jet takes part for the first time in this R-day

This year, the flypast was concluded by the newly inducted Rafale that carried out the spectacular 'Vertical Charlie' manoeuvre. In the manoeuvre, the aircraft flies at low altitude, then pulls up vertically while rolling 360 degrees multiple times.

A total of 38 IAF aircraft and four planes of the Indian Army participated in the flypast on January 26 (Tuesday).