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The Indian Navy on Thursday said five woman officers of INAS 314 based at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar, created history by completing the first all-woman independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.
The mission was conducted on Wednesday and the aircraft was captained by the Mission Commander, Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, who had pilots, Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite, and Tactical and Sensor Officers, Lt Pooja Panda and SLt Pooja Shekhawat in her team. INAS 314 is a frontline Naval Air Squadron based at Porbandar, Gujarat and operates the state-of-the-art Dornier 228 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the Navy said. The women officers received months of ground training and comprehensive mission briefings in the run-up to this historical sortie. According to Indian Navy, its impressive and pioneering women empowerment initiatives include the induction of women pilots, selection of women Air Operations Officers into the helicopter stream and conducting an all-woman sailing circumnavigation expedition across the globe in 2018. The Navy said the first-of-its-kind military flying mission was, however, unique and is expected to pave the way for women officers in the aviation cadre to assume greater responsibility and aspire for more challenging roles. It perhaps marks a unique achievement for the Armed Forces that a crew of only women officers undertook an independent operational mission in a multi-crew maritime surveillance aircraft. "Many congratulations to these officers for successfully doing so and inspiring millions of women all across India and the world to break free from all shackles and achieve their dreams. It was indeed a mission that showcased 'Nari Shakti' in its real spirit," said Indian Navy. (ANI)
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