Squadron Leader Hillard is to be deployed in Afghanistan

Squadron Leader Elle Hillard is a woman in a man’s world as she flies her Tornado bomber into combat.She is a female Top Gun. Squadron Leader Elle Hillard, who will deploy to Afghanistan this year, dispels the macho image of fighter pilot. The 32-year-old, who can fly quicker than the speed of sound in her Tornado jet, is one of only 12 female fast-jet pilots in the Royal Air Force among 708 men. The female quota has been rising since the RAF first gave women the green light to try out as pilots two decades ago, and is set to increase further. “Once you’ve learnt how to fly yourself it’s addictive,” said Squadron Leader Hillard. “I love it. It’s a rollercoaster you are in control of.” Partly inspired by the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun, she knew from a young age that she wanted to be a fast-jet pilot. Squadron Leader Hillard joined a university air squadron at the University of Edinburgh before signing up to the RAF. After a gruelling four years of training, she emerged as one of Britain’s elite fast-jet pilots, qualified to fly the Tornado bomber in combat. Squadron Leader Hillard, who is married to another fast-jet pilot, has since embarked on multiple tours to Iraq, where she has supported ground troops from the air, looking for enemy targets. Disaster nearly struck within the first few weeks of the Iraq invasion. She was cruising at an altitude of 10,000 feet, doing about 400 miles per hour when a monitor on board flashed up that there was an engine fire. “That was quite an interesting moment,” she said. Instinctively, her training kicked in and, with help from a navigator who flies with her, she was able to land the aircraft safely at Baghdad airport. Once on the ground, the young pilot established that the fire alert had been a false alarm. A woman in a man’s world, Squadron Leader Hillard, of 31 Squadron, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, said people often take a step back when they see a female pilot at the controls. “You can always see just a little bit of: Oh it’s a female pilot, rather than the male pilot they are expecting,” she said. “Also when you talk on the radio and they hear a female voice they are not always expecting that. They don’t tend to make a big deal of it but you can tell just a slight: Oh, I wasn’t expecting a female voice.” Gender no longer plays a part in RAF selection. The qualities recruiters want are skill, ability and fitness. Fast-jet pilots – regarded as the best of the best – must have lightning-quick reactions, perfect eyesight and a strong stomach. The RAF only changed the rules to enable women to train as pilots in 1989. Rising to the challenge, Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson became the first female pilot two years later, flying Andovers, a form of transport aircraft. The first female fast-jet pilot emerged in 1994 in the form of Flight Lieutenant Jo Salter, who flew Tornado GR1 fast jets. In the latest milestone, Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore, 31 has become the first woman selected to join the Red Arrows, arguably the most skilled team of pilots in the world. Further demonstrating the heights women can reach, an announcement is expected in the near future of the first female Eurofighter Typhoon pilot. At the moment only men fly the RAF’s premier fighter jet. The next challenge for Squadron Leader Hillard, who has been a fast-jet pilot for seven years, is Afghanistan, where she is due to deploy in the autumn. With hostilities mounting, there is a strong chance she will have to drop a bomb for the first time in combat. “It is part of the job you sign up to,” she said.

Posted in: Fighter jet,Fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban