Army aviation wing gets 1st woman combat pilot

NEW DELHI: Shattering yet another glass ceiling, the first woman officer joined the Army Aviation Corps as a Combat Aviator. “Captain Abhilasha Barak becomes the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as Combat Aviator after successful completion of her course,” said an Indian Army statement.

Capt Abhilasha was on Wednesday awarded the Coveted Wings along with 36 Army Pilots by Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Suri, Director General and Colonel Commandant Army Aviation during a valedictory ceremony held at Combat Army Aviation Training School, Nashik. Capt Barak hails from Haryana and was commissioned in the Army Air Defence Corps in September 2018. She is the daughter of Col S Om Singh (Retd). 

Captain Barak has done a number of professional military courses before joining the aviation unit. The Army Aviation Corps became an independent Corps of the Indian Army on Nov 1, 1986. The Corps is headed by a Lt General-rank officer known as Director General of Army Aviation. Over the years, the corps has expanded exponentially with addition of new units and state-of-the-art equipment such as remotely piloted aircraft.