THE People’s Liberation Army Air Force now has its first female pilots who can operate heavy-duty fighter jets, according to the Air Force.

The Air Force said the five female flight students, who are currently in the middle of training for heavy-duty combat aircraft, recently carried out their first solo flights in the J-11 fighter jet.

During the flights, the female aviators conducted some difficult maneuvers and received high scores from their instructors.

The students, with an average age of 23, will next start training in aerial-battle maneuvers and tactics, as well as land-attack skills, according to academy commanders.

“We wanted to show people that we, as Chinese women, can also fly heavy-duty fighter jets. Now we have been able to operate the J-11, and in the near future we will also be able to fly the J-20 stealth combat jet,” Yan Zhongyue, one of the pilots, told China Central Television in a recent interview. Before them, all female fighter pilots in China flew light-duty combat planes such as the J-7 and J-10.

Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said Monday that operating a heavy-duty, air-superiority fighter jet is basically not different to flying a light-duty jet with regard to requirements such as physical strength.

“Advanced combat planes have a fly-by-wire flight control system, which means it is now much easier to steer the heavy machine and physical strength is no longer an obstacle for women to fly fighter jets,” he explained.

“However, sitting in a heavy-duty fighter jet in combat means you are likely to engage your enemy in a more complicated situation or face more challenges. You will be ordered to fly a much longer distance to hit targets in an airspace you may not be familiar with. You will use a wider rage of equipment and munitions such as large anti-ship cruise missiles. All of this requires more training, skills and experience.”

Wang added that female pilots will definitely fly the J-20 in the future.

(China Daily)