Aero India 2019: PV Sindhu flies fighter jet to celebrate women's day
Bengaluru : Indian shuttler and Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu on Saturday flew HAL's light fighter jet - Tejas to celebrate women's day at the ongoing Aero India air show in Bengaluru.
A Defence Ministry official had said, "Sindhu will co-pilot the Tejas aircraft as part of the Women's Day to be observed at the air show on Saturday.
A news agency ANI shared pictures of PV Sindhu getting into the cockpit of the fighter jet. In the images she can be seen waving at the cameras before getting inside the plane.
Badminton player PV Sindhu waves as she is about to take off for a sortie in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft - Tejas in Bengaluru. #AeroIndia2019 pic.twitter.com/KvYkPLiGT5
— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2019
Sindhu took a ride in Tejas, built by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). It is a single-engine multirole light fighter.
The aircraft received its final operational clearance (FOC) on Wednesday from military aviation regulator Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (Cemilac) for induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a weaponised fighter jet in its operational fleet.
The fighter jet is made completely in India under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Made in India' initiative. Army chief Bipin Rawat took its first flight on Thursday.
On the work front, Sindhu is currently preparing for the All England Badminton Championships, which will take place in Birmingham from March 6 to March 10.
