NEWS
Induction of women officers into combat roles in the Indian Air Force (IAF) appears to be now becoming a reality. Thus far, flying of fighter planes in the IAF has been the exclusive preserve of male pilots. However, as indicated by Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff, there is a strong possibility that women pilots would be inducted into the fighter stream of the IAF in the near future. The IAF has already opened all branches for induction of women as Short Service Commission officers, except in the fighter stream and those in ground duty branches are also eligible for permanent commission. The IAF has already been training women pilots to fly transport aircraft as well as helicopters.

VIEWS
This is indeed an encouraging piece of news for those who advocate ‘Women’s Lib’. Within the three services, this issue has off and on been coming to the fore only to be set aside. Both the military and the civilian leadership in the country have been stoutly opposed to the idea of women being assigned combat roles. A.K. Antony, the erstwhile Minister of Defence, had told the Parliament that two high level tri-service committees constituted in 2006 and in 2011 had rejected the concept.

The reservations expressed from time to time by senior functionaries have not been totally unjustified. Some opine that the Indian society is not yet sufficiently matured to accept women being assigned combat roles. A major concern is of women in uniform falling into enemy hands during war. Another school of thought focuses on the commercial aspect of the proposal. It takes Rs. 13 crore to train a fighter pilot to fully operational status. A pregnancy after training would render the investment completely unproductive as the individual may have to be grounded for up to two years. Once back in flying, the lady fighter pilot would have to be put through refresher training entailing additional expenditure. Considering that a young women fighter pilot on an average would go through two pregnancy cycles in her early career, it is felt that investment in the training of women as fighter pilots would not be wise.

The above considerations apart, a woman trained as a fighter pilot does not have to go though the levels of physical stress that her counterpart in the Army would be confronted with in peace or in war. A fighter aircraft responds to control inputs which a female pilot would be as competent if not more, to provide. Flying an aircraft requires a high level of mental fitness and the soft touch. In any case women have been flying transport aircraft and helicopters in the IAF since the mid-1990s and have proved to be as proficient as their male counterparts. They have regularly operated transport aircraft at advanced landing grounds and helicopters from tricky helipads located in the snowy mountains of Ladakh. They have also taken part with elan in disaster management alongside their male counterparts.

While there may be diffidence amongst the decision-makers over the major shift in policy to induct women into the rank of fighter pilots, a ground-breaking step in this direction, though not publicised, was taken within the IAF two years ago. Women have generally been flying helicopters in noncombat roles. However, in October 2012, two women pilots were selected to be trained on the twin-engine Mi-8, a utility and assault helicopter, also referred to as the ‘armed helicopter’. The two women pilots were trained in bombing, rocket attack, combat search and rescue and special heliborne operations. They were subjected to the same training programme as their male counterparts and performed equally well. While they were not inducted on to fighter aircraft, even helicopters too are now potent combat platforms employed in the tactical battle area and have roles and responsibilities that in many ways are similar to those of fixed-wing combat aircraft. Also, the hazards that combat helicopters face while operating over the battlefield are similar to or even a degree worse that those faced by fighter aircraft operating in a similar environment. Unlike fighter aircraft that are likely to be involved in operational flying only during a frontal war with the enemy, an armed helicopter can be employed in a variety of operational tasks related to internal security and anti-insurgency. For the two women pilots who were the first to be inducted for combat role on helicopters, the experience was exhilarating.

A brief look at the situation in other parts of the world would be of interest. While most of the air forces inducted females into fighter flying only after 1990, Turkey had its first lady fighter pilot Sabiha Gokcen in 1936. During World War II, the USSR had several female fighter pilots among whom Lilya Litvvak was the top scoring woman ace with 12 kills to her credit with Katya Budanova following with 11. The Israel Air Force has had fighter pilots for a long time and even permits pregnant women to fly combat missions. China inducted the first batch of six female fighter pilots in 2013 and even Pakistan Air Force boasts of one with Ayesha Farooq qualifying in 2013 on the Chinese made F-7PG fighter jet.

Should the IAF continue to lag behind?