Bhawana Kanth First Woman to Finish IAF's Toughest Fighter Course

Bhawana Kanth is a pilot in the Indian Air Force.

In August 2026, she became the first woman ever to finish the Indian Air Force's hardest flying course, called the Fighter Combat Leader course.

It is a little like the Top Gun school from the movies, but for real pilots.

The course lasts 20 weeks and takes place at a special training base in Gwalior, India.

Almost nobody gets chosen to try it, and many of the pilots who do try do not finish.

Back in 2016, Bhawana was one of the very first three women allowed to fly fighter jets in India.

Before that, women in the Air Force were not allowed to fly fighter planes at all.

She has flown tough jets like the old MiG-21 and later bigger fighter jets called the Su-30.

Now she will help train other pilots and plan missions for the next generation of fighter pilots.