Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh will be the first women officers posted on Navy warships among the crew, redefining gender equality in the Indian Navy. Several women officers are posted in ranks of the Indian Navy, but none so far have been assigned to warships for long periods because of reasons such as lack of privacy in crew quarters and the inclusion of gender-specific bathroom accommodations. Changes are underway with the two young officers training for operation on a host of sensors overseas navy multi-role helicopters, with sonar consoles and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payloads.

Likely, the two officers will gradually begin flight on the latest MH-60 R helicopters, with 24 currently in order. Regarded as the most significant advancement in multi-role helicopters of their class in the world, the MH-60R is designed to detect enemy ships and submarines which can be engaged using missiles and torpedoes. In 2018, then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had cleared the acquisition of the Lockheed-Martin built choppers in a deal estimated at $2.6 billion.

When the Indian Air Force (IAF) has shortlisted a women fighter pilot to operate in its fleet of Rafale fighter jets, the news regarding the development follows a day after upon emergence. Operational conversion of this officer has started, while it remains unclear when she would be declared ‘operational’ with the IAF’s Golden Arrows squadron in Ambala which is the first IAF squadron to operate the French-built fighter, the most advanced in the inventory of the IAF. 

The two officers are part of a group of 17 officers of the Indian Navy, including four women officers, and three officers of the Indian Coast Guard, who were awarded ‘Wings’ on graduating as “Observers” at a ceremony held on Monday at INS Garuda in Kochi, the Navy said in a statement.