The Indian Air Force has selected Group Captain Shaliza Dhami to take over command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector.
She will be the first woman officer in the IAF to command a missile squadron in the Western sector facing Pakistan.
A Group Captain in the IAF is equivalent to a Colonel in the Army.
The Indian Army has the largest number of women officers at 1,705, followed by 1,640 women officers in the Indian Air Force, and 559 in the Indian Navy.