In a First, SLt Aastha Poonia Joins Indian Navy’s Fighter Pilot Stream

At an airbase humming with anticipation, two young officers took a defining step in their careers — and in the history of Indian naval aviation. On July 3rd, during the winging ceremony of the Second Basic Hawk Conversion Course at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam, Sub Lieutenant Aastha Poonia etched her name in the record books as the first woman to be inducted into the fighter stream of the Indian Navy. Alongside her, Lieutenant Atul Kumar Dhull was also awarded the coveted Wings of Gold. The honours were presented by Rear Admiral Janak Bevli, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air), in a ceremony that blended tradition with quiet transformation.

Until now, women in the Navy’s aviation arm had been flying helicopters and multi-role aircraft — critical platforms, no doubt, but outside the high-speed, high-risk world of fighter jets. Poonia’s entry into this elite category marks not just personal achievement, but a deliberate shift in the Navy’s ethos — a tangible step towards deeper gender inclusion in combat roles. It’s a decision that sends a message: the cockpit no longer belongs to men alone.

The Indian Navy, over the past few years, made steady progress in integrating women into its aviation wing. But this moment, with Poonia standing in her overalls, wings freshly pinned to her chest, represents something more: a quiet but firm break from the past. It is Nari Shakti not as symbolism, but as substance — earned, proven, and now airborne.

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