Captain Abhilasha Barak- First woman officer to join Army Aviation Corps as Combat Aviator

Army Aviation Corps: Captain Abhilasha Barak on May 25, 2022, created history by becoming the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as a Combat Aviator after the successful completion of training.

Abhilasha Barak was awarded the coveted wings along with 36 Army Pilots by the Director-General and Colonel Commandant of Army Aviation. The Indian Army while sharing the pictures on Twitter said, “Golden Letter Day in the history of Indian Army Aviation.”

The Army Aviation Corps is headed by a director-general at the Army headquarters in New Delhi. In 2021, the then Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane had said that women will soon be inducted as pilots in the Army Aviation Corps from 2022.

Captain Abhilasha Barak becomes the First Woman Officer to join Army Aviation Corps as Combat Aviator after successful completion of training. She has been awarded the Coveted Wings along with 36 Army Pilot: Indian Army pic.twitter.com/GH1dAlbCCw

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2022

Captain Abhilasha Barak: India’s first female combat Aviator

Captain Abhilasha Barak has become the first woman to join the Army Aviation Corps as Combat Aviator. As per the Indian Army, 15 women officers had expressed their desire to join the Army Aviation but only two were selected after the Pilot Aptitude Battery test and Medical.

At present women were only given the responsibility of traffic control and ground duty in the Aviation Department but now Abhilasha Barak will take over the responsibility of the pilot. In 2018, Air Force Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi had become the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft.

What is Army Aviation Corps?

Army Aviation Corps is the component of the Indian Army which was established on November 1, 1986. It was immediately inducted into ‘Operation Pawan’ which was a crucial test for the newly formed corps.

What is the role of Army Aviation Corps?

The Army Aviation Corps of the Indian Army primarily carries out the evacuation of the injured troops during operations or health emergencies in the high-altitude areas. The choppers of the Aviation Corps are also used for observation, reconnaissance, casualty evacuation, combat research and rescue, and essential load drops.