When the 51 Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft zoom over the Kartavya Path (formerly Rajpath) on January 26 as part of the 75th Republic Day parade, piloting one of the fighter jets in the flypast would be a woman officer from Mysuru.
Flight Lieutenant (FLT LT) Punya Nanjappa, who will be piloting the MiG-29 fighter, is among the eight women pilots who will be flying in various formations at the Republic Day parade.
Commissioned into the IAF in December 2020, FLT LT Punya is from the No. 47 Squadron of IAF.
“I will be piloting a MiG-29 and we will be doing a flypast over the Rastrapathi Bhavan and the Kartavya Path during the Republic Day parade. Two other MiG-29’s will also be in formation along with my aircraft,” FLT LT Punya told The Hindu on Thursday, January 25.
FLT LT Punya is the second woman fighter pilot from Karnataka. Before joining the IAF she did her engineering at the National Institute of Engineering in Mysuru.
The officer said that it is a rare honour to be participating in the Republic Day parade flypast.
“Usually senior officers get to be part of such prestigious events, so it is a very good opportunity, in fact it is a rare opportunity for me to be participating in the flypast so early in my career,” said FLT LT Punya.
Before joining the Adampur based No. 47 Squadron which is equipped with the MiG-29, the officer from Mysuru had flown the Pilatus PC-7, Kiran and Hawk aircraft.
Regarding the preparation for the flypast, she said that the pilots who will be participating have been practicing together for a few days now.
Apart from FLT LT Punya, another officer hailing from Karnataka will also be part of the Republic Day parade. Capt. Sharanya Rao from Kodagu district will be the supernumerary officer who will be leading the Indian Army component of the Tri-services contingent during the parade.
