New Delhi: In a historic milestone for the Indian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Shakti Sharma became the first woman officer (non-medical) in the Indian defence forces to attain the rank of Air Vice Marshal or equivalent. On Monday, she assumed the appointment of assistant chief of the air staff (education) at air headquarters, the Ministry of Defence said.
AVM Sharma’s elevation marks a significant moment for women in military leadership, coming more than three decades after she was commissioned into the IAF’s education branch on June 18, 1994. Since then, she has served across training establishments, field stations, command headquarters and air headquarters.
Her career has been marked by several firsts within the armed forces. In 2020, AVM Sharma became the first woman group captain in the IAF outside the medical branch and later became the first woman officer from the three Services to head a Sainik School, serving as principal of Sainik School, Kapurthala.
AVM Sharma has also played a role in expanding the IAF’s engagement with academic institutions. She was instrumental in establishing IAF Chairs of Excellence at IIT-Kanpur and Pune University to promote academic and strategic defence collaboration.
The IAF opened its fighter stream to women in 2016, while women entered the National Defence Academy from 2022, widening the pool of women eligible for long-term military careers.
The supreme court’s 2020 ruling on permanent commission further opened avenues for longer careers for women officers in eligible branches. Despite these changes, no woman from a non-medical branch has yet reached three-star rank or commanded a major operational formation, while women continue to face restrictions in the Army’s combat arms.
The Indian Air Force, in an official post on X, described AVM Sharma’s elevation as a “historic milestone” and said it marked a new chapter in the journey of women officers in the Indian defence forces. The IAF said her more than three decades of distinguished service continued to inspire generations to “Touch the Sky with Glory”.
With more than three decades of distinguished service, AVM Sharma’s appointment represents another significant step in the changing profile of India’s military leadership. Her elevation also adds to a growing list of milestones achieved by women officers as they move into increasingly senior positions across the defence forces.