Bhawana Kanth becomes India's first woman Fighter Combat Leader

IAF Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth became the first woman pilot in India to clear the elite Fighter Combat Leader (FCL) course, graduating on 6 August 2026 from the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), Gwalior. The 20-week programme — the IAF''s equivalent of the US Navy''s Top Gun — is cleared by only about 1% of selected fighter pilots and qualifies them to lead complex air-combat operations. Kanth was commissioned in June 2016 in India''s first batch of women fighter pilots, and in May 2019 became the first Indian woman fighter pilot cleared for daytime combat missions.