BENGALURU: After smoothly touching the tarmac at Yelahanka base, on Saturday, with their parachutes from a height of 5,000 feet, during Aero India 2019, the five women of Indian Air Force involved in the daredevilry act of skydiving interacted with the media.It was a special event organised on the fourth day of the show to mark Women’s Day by the IAF. The women along with six men dived out of a helicopter mid-air around 9.45 am. Some in the audience clapped when the women clad in their red parachute fatigues touched the ground.
Wing Commander Sangita Paulraj, a Bengalurean, billed it “as a great feeling” while Flight Officer, Tuhina Gaur, said, “Everyone should do this once in their lifetime.” Wing Commander Asha Jyotirmai, the team leader who has clocked 864 jumps, the highest by any Indian woman sky diver, said, when it comes to parachuting, there was no difference between men or women performing.
“The only thing that matters is a presence of mind and physical fitness and women have shown they can excel at it all.”Squadron Leader Isha Gill said, “I am filled with pride to carry out this feat to celebrate this Women’s Day for the IAF.”
According to an official, the speed at which the women were parachuting down was 200 feet/sec. “The women belonged to different professions and were all trained at the Directorate of Air Force Adventure School,” he said.
LCA-Tejas to get sleeker BrahMos missile
Bengaluru: The Russia-Indian venture of Brahmos Aerospace is in the process of developing a sleeker and lighter version of the supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos. The new-gen BrahMos will be a miniature version of the missile and is expected to be tested in the next two years. One of the important features of the new missile, named BrahMos NG as of now, will be that the weapon could be integrated with the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft - Tejas.