Being a fighter pilot is not an easy task. You have to meet high requirement of physical fitness, mental and intelligence. Working in small cockpit with extreme condition is not suit for all women who choose military as career. Female fighter pilots were not allowed in most countries until the ‘90s, and some countries have never had one at all. Although women were allowed to join the Air Force as early as 1993, they were blocked from careers as fighter pilots until 2015. But women have proved that they can perform remarkably as male in some of the toughest positions in Air Force.
Imagine girl next to you with pretty face and nice smiling should work in office but walking in G-suit to the most advanced and sophisticated air craft. Surprisingly some of them involved in combat missions and air striking. Here is the list of 10 best female Fighter Pilots who are dared to be sky warrior as modern jet fighter pilot.
List of Top 10 Best Female Fighter Pilots
10. Niloofar Rahmani
She is the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in Afghanistan’s history and the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force. The successful story followed by controversial story. Most Taliban’s terrorist disagreed with her achievement and want to punish her. Some of her family members also threat to kill her because it’s against Afghanistan traditions and rules that women cannot served in military. She began training on C-130s with the US Air Force in 2015 and completed the program in December 2016. She was granted asylum by United States Government in April 2018.
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9. Nicola Baumann
Nicola Baumann, born in march 10, 1985 became second female fighter pilot in the history of the German Air Force in 2007. She was assigned to the 322nd Squadron in Bavaria, flying Tornados and Eurofighter Typhoon. In 2012 she became an instructor pilot at ENJJPT (Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training) with the 459th Flying Squadron. She also completed her flying training as a Eurofighter Typhoon pilot in 2015.
8. Katie Higgins
Marine Corps Captain Katie Higgins made history by becoming the first female pilot in Blue Angels team in Sept 2014. Blue Angels is the famous U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. She graduated from Annapolis in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and went on to get her Masters in International Security from Georgetown University before reporting to Naval Air Station Pensacola for aviation training. As a married woman with two kids her achievement in flight records was amazing.
7. Yu Xu
Born in 1986, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Yu Xu was the first certified Chinese women to fly Chinese made fighter jet Chengdu J-10. She joined the military as a student at the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Air Force Aviation University in 2005, and graduated in 2009. Yu Xu was a member of the August 1st aerobatics team. Unfortunately, the potential pilot died during an aerobatic training session on November 12, 2016. She was killed in a failed parachute jump when her jet crashed near Tangshan, Hebei Province.
6. Carey Lohrenz
Born in 1968, Racine, Wisconsin. Carey Lohrenz is the U.S. Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat pilot. She was graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1990. In 1991 Lohrenz graduated from Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. In the same year she gets advanced jet training in Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. She received follow-on orders to the F-14 Fleet Replacement Squadron, Fighter Squadron 124 (VF-124) at Naval Air Station Miramar, California.
5. Mariam Al-Mansouri
Born in 1979, Abu Dhabi. She is the first female fighter pilot of the United Arab Emirates Air Force. In 2007, she joints the Khalifa bin-Zayed Air College of the United Arab Emirates Air Force and graduated as excellent pilot. She makes history in Arab states aviation as a proven best pilot. In 2014 she flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 60 and lead UAE Air Force mission airstrikes against ISIS over Syria. The mission successful became inspired story for the Arab female teenagers who got a dream to be a pilot.
4. Patricia Yapp
Declared as the first Asian female fighter pilot to fly the Russian MiG-29. Patricia Yapp also the first female fighter pilot in RMAF (Royal Malaysia Air Force). She was born and raised in Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia. In 2000, she graduated from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with a diploma in Aeronautical Engineering. After completing her flight training in 2002, she chose to be a fighter pilot and flew the Aermacchi MB-339 aircraft for four years. After this, she became an operational and tactical lead pilot with the No. 17/19 Squadron in Kuantan that flies the MiG-29N Fulcrum.
3. Captain Kim Campbell
Captain Campbell was born in June 6, 1975, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. An Air-force Academy grad, Campbell was one of just 50 women fighter pilots in the USAF in 2003. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1997. She also holds a degree in International Security Studies from the University of Reading United Kingdom, and Masters in Business Administration from Imperial College London, United Kingdom, which she undertook while on a Marshall Scholarship.
Captain Kim Campbell served as A-10 pilot of 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in Iraq conflict. Her A-10 aircraft received a disastrous hit from AAA (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) when she was flying a combat mission in support of American ground forces over Baghdad on April 7, 2003. With determination and superb flight skill she succeeds bring back safely the damaged A-10 to the base. For this action in aerial combat Capt. Campbell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
2. Jammie Jamieson
Not all the fighter pilots have opportunity to fly the $150 million F-22 Raptor, the fifth-generation stealth tactical fighter aircraft. But Jammie Jamieson was exception and the first operational female fighter pilot to fly the superior F-22. She was born in Tacoma and lived in Prosser from 1982 until she left for the Air Force Academy in 1996. She receiving her commission through the Air Force Academy in 2000 and a master’s degree in public policy in national security and political economy from Harvard University in 2002, Jamieson completed the F-15C Basic Course at Tyndall Air Force Base. After three years flying the F-15C in Alaska, she completed the F-22A Transition Qualification Course at Tyndall in 2008.
1. Lt. Col Christine Mau
The top position among best female fighter pilots are given to Lt. Col Christine Mau. At the time Lt. Col. Mau flew the F-35A for the first time, there were only 86 other (male) pilots certified to fly the F-35A in the entire U.S. Air Force. Not only becoming first female pilot flew the F-35A she also made another great achievement in U.S Air Force history. In 2011, she was reportedly a member of the first all-female combat sortie while in Afghanistan. She and an all-female maintenance and planning crew launched an F-15E Strike Eagle combat operation against insurgents in Afghanistan’s Kunar Valley. Lt. Col Christine Mau currently serves as Deputy Commander of the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin Air Force base in Florida.