New Delhi, August 28: Wing Commander Shaliza Dhami became the first woman Flight Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Shaliza Dhami on Monday took over the Chetak helicopter unit at the Hindon airbase in Uttar Pradesh. Born in Ludhiana, she took her first solo flight in 2003 in Hyderabad, on the HPT-32 Deepak. Bhawana Kanth Becomes India's Second Woman Pilot To Fly Fighter Aircraft Solo, Creates History.

In 2017, Dhami became the first woman flying instructor of the IAF. Wing Commander Dhami is also the first woman officer to get a permanent commission of the flying branch. She joined the force almost 15 years ago.

Chetak is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud-Aviation. Chetak has a capacity of six passengers and has a maximum speed of 220 km/hour. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) built the chopper for the IAF under a licensing arrangement with Aerospatiale.

In May this year, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth became the first woman fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake combat missions. She completed Day operational syllabus on Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft. Flight Lieutenant Kanth had joined fighter squadron in '2017 and flew the first solo on MiG-21 Bison in March 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2019 11:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).