BSF Air Wing Inducts First Woman Flight Engineer in Over 50 Years
NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF) air wing has inducted its first woman flight engineer, Inspector Bhawna Chaudhary, marking a historic milestone in the force’s more than 50-year history. Chaudhary, along with four male officers, successfully completed the BSF’s first-ever in-house flight engineer training capsule.
The officers were awarded their flying badges by BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chawdhary. The BSF, which has operated the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) aviation unit since 1969, caters to the operational needs of all paramilitary and special forces, including the NSG and NDRF.
According to officials, the five officers were trained from scratch by BSF air wing instructors over a two-month course that began in August. During the 130-hour training programme, they gained hands-on experience as BSF aircraft carried out operational sorties, including flood relief missions in Punjab and other states.
The BSF air wing had been facing an acute shortage of flight engineers for its Mi-17 helicopter fleet. While the Indian Air Force trained the first batch of three engineers, the next group could not be accommodated due to limited training slots.
Following approval from the MHA, the BSF conducted its own in-house training programme — resulting in Inspector Chaudhary’s historic achievement as the first woman flight engineer in the BSF air wing.
The BSF air wing operates a range of aircraft, including a fixed-wing Embraer jet for VIP duties and helicopters such as the Mi-17 1V, Mi-17 V5, Cheetah, and ALH Dhruv.
Raised in December 1965, the 3 lakh-strong BSF is tasked primarily with guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, in addition to various internal security responsibilities.
