Women pilots took part in India's Operation Sindoor strike on LeT headquarters
A female Sukhoi-30MKI pilot was among the aircrew that hit the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke during the opening day of Operation Sindoor.
In May 2025 India began Operation Sindoor to retaliate for the Pahalgam terror incident, assigning women officers to combat and support roles on aircraft such as the MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Rafale and Su-30MKI. A female pilot of a Su-30MKI participated in the formation that bombed the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke on the mission’s first day. Defence sources said all women posted on fighters, transports and helicopters were involved, but refused to reveal exact numbers or names, labeling the details classified.
An international channel’s two-part docu-series corroborated the involvement of a woman pilot while noting the target list was trimmed from 34 to nine. The deployment reflects a decades-long shift in Indian armed forces policy, from early non-combat roles to the commissioning of women into fighter squadrons in 2016.
Why it matters
It shows the expanding combat role of women in India's military and highlights a key strike against a major terrorist group.
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