Hafiz Saeed’s Muridke headquarters was hit by woman fighter pilot during Op Sindoor
A woman Flight Lieutenant piloting a Su-30MKI fighter was part of the strike package that hit a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) facility at Muridke during Operation Sindoor (May 2025)
Defence sources indicate more than one woman fighter pilot flew combat missions targeting militant infrastructure during the operation, across both Su-30MKI and Rafale aircraft, in pilot and Weapon Systems Operator (WSO) roles
Of the initial set of nine targets struck on the operation's first day, two — the Muridke facility and a Jaish-e-Mohammed-linked site at Bahawalpur — were hit by the Indian Air Force; the remainder were engaged by the Army using loitering munitions and long-range artillery
The episode has drawn renewed public attention through a docu-series on the operation, though individual identities of women aircrew remain undisclosed for operational security
Induction of Women into the IAF Fighter Stream (2016)
The Indian Air Force opened its fighter (combat) stream to women officers on an experimental basis in October 2015, and commissioned its first batch — Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh — as fighter pilots on 18 June 2016. Before this, women had flown IAF transport and helicopter streams for over two decades but were excluded from fighter cockpits.
Key Details
- First batch commissioned: 18 June 2016 (Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth, Mohana Singh)
- Decision taken under then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
- Women fighter pilots have since flown Su-30MKI and Rafale aircraft in frontline squadrons; women also serve as Weapon Systems Operators on multi-crew platforms
- The scheme, initially experimental, was made a permanent feature of IAF recruitment in subsequent years
Operation Sindoor is the first acknowledged instance of women fighter pilots flying live combat strike missions since their 2016 induction, marking a operational (not just training/ceremonial) milestone for gender integration in India's combat forces.
Operation Sindoor (May 2025) — Trigger and Conduct
Operation Sindoor was India's military response, launched in the early hours of 7 May 2025, to a terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam. Indian forces struck terrorist infrastructure linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed at multiple locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Muridke and Bahawalpur — long-identified headquarters of LeT and JeM respectively. The four-day exchange of strikes, drone attacks and shelling ended with a ceasefire announced on 10 May 2025.
Key Details
- Trigger: terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir (April 2025)
- Strikes commenced: 7 May 2025 (approx. 1:05 am); ceasefire: 10 May 2025 (effective 5 pm)
- Targets included Muridke (LeT headquarters, associated with Hafiz Saeed) and Bahawalpur (JeM headquarters)
- Assets used across the operation: Rafale jets, Su-30MKI fighters, SCALP cruise missiles, HAMMER precision-guided bombs, and the Israeli-origin Rampage air-to-ground missile
- Escalation on the final day extended to Pakistani military installations (e.g., Sialkot, Chaklala) before the ceasefire
The Muridke strike — hitting the LeT headquarters directly — was one of the operation's signature actions; the disclosure that a woman pilot flew this specific mission underscores the shift of women aircrew from support to frontline strike roles.
Rampage Air-to-Ground Missile
Rampage is a long-range, supersonic, precision air-to-ground missile of Israeli origin, integrated onto IAF Su-30MKI fighters. It allows a launch aircraft to strike hardened or high-value ground targets from stand-off range, without entering the engagement envelope of enemy air-defence systems — reducing risk to the aircrew.
Key Details
- Designated in Indian service as the "High Speed Low Drag-Mark 2" variant
- Weighs approximately 570 kg; wing/pylon-mounted on Su-30MKI
- Operational combat use confirmed by the IAF during Operation Sindoor (May 2025)
- Following its performance in the operation, India moved to fast-track larger-scale domestic/licensed production of the missile
Precision stand-off munitions like Rampage (alongside SCALP and HAMMER) were central to enabling deep strikes such as the Muridke facility hit, reducing the risk exposure of the strike aircrew, including the women pilots involved.
- First women IAF fighter pilots commissioned: 18 June 2016
- Operation Sindoor conducted: 7–10 May 2025 (ceasefire effective 10 May, 5 pm)
- Initial day-one targets struck: 9 (2 by IAF — Muridke, Bahawalpur; 7 by Army loitering munitions/artillery)
- Rampage missile: Israeli-origin, supersonic, ~570 kg, air-to-ground, integrated on Su-30MKI
- Aircraft/munitions cited across the operation: Rafale, Su-30MKI, SCALP, HAMMER, Rampage