Indian Air Force’s Flt Lt Tejaswi Ranga First Woman to Fly Sukhoi-30 on the India-China border

Amidst the ongoing tensions between India and China along the border areas in the eastern sector, Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Flight Lieutenant Tejaswi Ranga Rao, a Weapon System Operator (WSO), in the Sukhoi-30 fleet on 27th of September said that the pilots are ready to take any eventuality along China border.

The WSOs aka wizzos are specialised officers who fly in the multirole Su-30 fighter aircraft’s rear cockpit where the pilot has the responsibility of controlling the sensors and armaments that the aircraft use to fire at enemy targets.

“Being part of any actual operation is what every fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force trains for, because that is where we would get to show our mettle. Our pilots from various bases in the eastern sector are ready to respond in case of any eventuality. We are always ready for any kind of tasks and challenges that may come upon us,” Flight Lieutenant Tejaswi Ranga Rao said in an official statement at the forward base in Tejpur, Assam. “What runs through our heads is not really different at stressful moments because such operations are an execution of what we train on a daily basis,” she answered when questioned especially about how she felt being a part of operations amid the ongoing standoff with China at the borders.

She further added “Having women in the fighter aircraft fleet is no longer a novel experience. Everyone works and trains just as hard, men and women included. We each have an equal voice. We are all air warriors first and foremost in the air and on the base, and everything else comes second.

Asked about the experience of fighter pilots during the multiple joint Army-Air Force joint operations during the recent wargames, another Su-30 fighter pilot Flight Lieutenant Sakshya Bajpai said the experience of flying during these wargames was always very thrilling as it helps pilots to prepare better for carrying out actual operations.”The training missions help us to get oriented and help us to get ready for any contingency and live up to our motto ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’.

For the past two years, India has been facing a constant tussle with China along the northern borders of Ladakh due to which armed forces are prepared well to face any extreme situation along the Line of Actual Control.

These pilots are doing a fantastic job, and for us in the IAF, they are first and foremost air warriors who must use the equipment skillfully to complete the missions given, according to an Eastern Command official.