Shaliza Dhami

Born in Ludhiana, Punjab.^[4][7] Dhami holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communication.^[8][3] Her first solo flight was in 2003 in a HAL HPT-32 Deepak. She was commissioned as a flying officer in the Air Force on 20 December 2003 on a short-service commission,^[9] and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 20 December 2005 and to squadron leader on 20 December 2009.^[10][11]

Promoted to wing commander on 20 December 2016,^[12] Dhami became a Flight Commander in August 2019, the first woman officer in India to do so.^[4] She is a flight commander of a Chetak helicopter unit at Hindan Air Force Station.^[13] She also became the first woman flying instructor of the IAF for Chetak and Cheetah helicopters; this made her the first woman flying instructor in the IAF.

On 18 December 2018, Dhami became the first woman officer in the Indian Air Force to be granted a permanent commission.^[14] She was selected for promotion to group captain, effective from 28 December 2021 (seniority from 28 September 2021),^[15] thus becoming the first female officer in the Indian Armed Forces to attain a selection-grade rank in a combat arm. In March 2023, she became the first woman selected to command a front-line IAF combat unit.^[2]

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  Dhami's first solo flight was in a HAL Deepak
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  She is the first woman flying instructor for HAL Chetak

• Squadron Leader Minty Agarwal