A daughter of Darbhanga's Ghanshyampur has done what no Indian woman had done before — completed the Indian Air Force's gruelling Fighter Combat Leader course and earned the title of the country's first female 'Top Gun'. Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan took to X on Saturday, August 8, 2026, to salute Flight Lieutenant Bhavna Kanth on this landmark achievement. In his post, Minister Paswan wrote: 'Darbhanga ke Ghanshyampur ki beti, Bhavna Kanth ji ko... desh ki pehli mahila Top Gun banne ki aitihasik uplabdhi par hardik badhai.' ('Heartfelt congratulations to Bhavna Kanth, daughter of Ghanshyampur in Darbhanga, on the historic achievement of becoming the country's first female Top Gun.') He called her success 'an inspiring example of women's power, courage, dedication, and indomitable self-confidence,' adding that she has raised the pride of not just Bihar, but the entire nation.

From the first fighter-pilot batch to the top of the combat ladder

Bhavna Kanth's journey to this milestone began a decade ago. In 2016, the Indian Air Force broke a long-standing barrier by inducting its first batch of women into the fighter pilot cadre — a cohort of three officers that included Kanth. The move ended a prior restriction that had kept female personnel out of combat flying roles entirely. What was then a historic first has now climbed several rungs higher: completing an advanced Fighter Combat Leader course places Kanth among the IAF's most elite combat-qualified aviators. The course, conducted at the IAF's Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TADCE), is among the most demanding in the service — designed to produce officers capable of leading complex aerial combat operations. Being the first woman to clear it is not a ceremonial distinction; it is a rigorous, operationally significant credential.

Bihar's pride, and a national signal

For Minister Paswan, whose political base is firmly in Bihar, the tribute carries a dual register — regional pride and a national policy statement. Bihar leaders have consistently used public platforms to spotlight state natives who excel in the armed forces, and Kanth's achievement gives that tradition its sharpest edge yet. Paswan closed his message with a wish for her 'bright future and continued success' — 'ujjwal bhavishya aur nirantar safalta ki mangalkamna.' Kanth's story is also a marker of how far the IAF's gender-integration policy has travelled since 2016. What began as a limited, closely-watched experiment has produced an officer who now holds the service's most demanding combat-leadership qualification. The Ministry of Defence and the IAF are expected to issue further statements as more women officers advance through elite combat streams in the years ahead. A girl from a small town in Bihar. A fighter jet. The country's toughest aerial combat course. India now has its first female Top Gun — and the skies, it turns out, had no ceiling she could not break.