One of the three women is the daughter of an air warrior. The other two are from civilian backgrounds, though one of them has a brother serving in the army.

The cadets will graduate from the academy on December 19 before those selected for the fighter stream head for Hakimpet near Hyderabad in early January for stage-II training on Kiran Mk-II planes for six months.

The decision to allow women to fly warplanes -- a watershed in the air force's 83-year history -- has been taken on an "experimental basis" and the government will review it after five years.