Prez Pitches for Women Pilots in IAF
After her 40-minute sortie in a Sukhoi 30 fighter jet, President Pratibha Patil has pitched for women pilots in the Indian Air Force.
“Earlier we did not have any women force in defence forces. Now we have them in various fields. This is a continuous process. Let us see that a proper decision will be taken on women flying fighter planes,” she said.
After the sorties, she said that she is confident that Indian armed forces are more than capable of defending the borders.
The President’s jet was commanded by Wing Commander S Sajan and took off smoothly in the slightly chilly, but sunny early winter morning from the Lohegaon Air Force base on the outskirts of Maharashtra’s IT and academic capital at around 1055 hrs IST
During the approximately 40 minute sortie, the aircraft flew at an altitude of 10,000 feet at a speed of around 800 kmph or 0.9 Mach, but did not achieve the supersonic levels of around 1,100 kmph, an IAF spokesman said.
