Captain Abhilasha Barak on Wednesday became the first woman combat aviator of the Indian Army, thirty years after India began inducting women as officers in the armed forces.. She was awarded the coveted ‘wings’ along with 36 Army pilots at a ceremony held at Combat Army Aviation Training School in Nashik.
Captain Barak hails from Haryana and is the daughter of Col S Om Singh (Retd). She was commissioned into the Army Air Defence Corps in September, 2018. She has done a number of professional military courses before joining the Army Aviation Corps.
Officials said Captain Barak has been assigned to the second flight of 2072 Army Aviation Squadron that operates the Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH).The Army Aviation Corps is a component of the Army that was formed in November 1986. The Corps is headed by a Lt Gen rank officer known as Director General of Army Aviation.
Captain Barak’s appointment comes at a time when the National Defence Academy is set to induct its first batch of women cadets in June 2022.
The decision to include women in Army to fly helicopters came in the early 2021. Until then women officers were only assigned ground duties in army aviation.In October 2021, Supreme Court in a land mark order asked the National Defence Academy to allow women take up aviator positions. They are now eligible for permanent commission as well.
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