Aero India 2019: Badminton star PV Sindhu goes 'Supersonic' in Tejas aircraft on Women's Day

India's ace badminton player and Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu flew in homemade combat fighter jet Tejas aircraft at the ongoing Aero India air show in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Aero India 2019, the Asia's largest air show, will be highlighting the achievements of Women in Aviation in its ongoing 12th edition of Plane Carnival in Bengaluru.

"Sindhu will co-pilot the Tejas aircraft as part of the Women's Day to be observed at the air show on Saturday," a Defence Ministry official said.

#AeroIndia2019 : Supersonic PV Sindhu.#AeroIndiaWomenDay#PVSindhu pic.twitter.com/FebuObOWYU

- Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) February 23, 2019

Tejas is a single-engine multirole light fighter built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

With this, the badminton sensation became the first ever woman to co-pilot the 'indigenous iron bird' Tejas.

The 23-year-old Hyderabad shuttler stated she always loved flying but never dreamt of getting an opportunity to fly on a military plane. She said, "It's a great honour for me to fly in a Tejas. It will be a proud moment and I am looking forward".  

"The Women's Day will showcase women's achievements in the aerospace sector, an all-women crew will fly Dornier and Avro aircraft and participate in panel discussions at the venue," said an official.

The lady officers from the Aerospace sector will be sharing their journeys and experiences and will be sitting together to discuss 'Cyber Security in Aerospace.' Women achievers in the sector will also be felicitated and a book and film on 'Women in Aviation' will be released.

"Three women IAF fighter pilots will also fly Hawk-I advanced jet trainer of BAE Systems plc and an upgraded version of the Russian-made MiG-21," said the official.

This year, Asia's largest military aviation exhibition plans on displaying 61 aircraft and exhibiting 403 participants. The five-day biennial air show will continue till February 24, 2019, and expects to see major footfalls for the show on Saturday.

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