Top Gun Nikki, f irst woman to command RAF Tornado team
A FEMALE top gun pilot has become the first woman to command an RAF fast jet squadron – and is now set to tackle IS.
‘Fearless’ Nikki Thomas has become Wing Commander of t he distinguished 12( B) Squadron – which has a proud history going back to both world wars.
Now in charge of up to 16 ground attack Tornado jets and t heir crews, s he is expected to lead the aerial assault against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq this summer.
The 36-year-old, who flies in supersonic Tornado GR4 jets as a weapons system operator, yesterday said she was glad to be a role model for women, who she claimed are ‘no different to guys’ in the RAF.
The keen sailor, surfer and swimmer, who ‘loves speed’, said: ‘It’s my ideal job. I get out the office and I enjoy being part of the action.’ She added: ‘You get banter whatever you do and being a girl just makes it easier.’
The fighter ace, raised in Exmouth, Devon, has served in the RAF for 15 years and has extensive combat experience, clocking up more than 35 missions in Afghanistan within three months.
She and pilot Juliette Fleming were the RAF’s first allfemale crew to fly a two-seater Tornado – and once helped foil a rocket attack on their base at Kandahar airfield in 2010.
Spotting Taliban attackers hiding in a ditch, the pair skimmed the ground in their £9.4million jet at 500mph – and the terrified fighters quickly fled in a truck. The year before, while serving as Squadron Leader of 31 Squadron, she was appointed the ‘warlord’ on the ground – in charge of day-to-day operations.
Wg Cdr Thomas will now lead 12 (B) Squadron as it joins airstrikes against militants taking over swathes of the Middle East.
However, she will not be the first woman to hit Islamic State – a female fighter ace led the first combat sortie against IS extremists in Iraq in September.
Speaking of her upcoming mission in Iraq, Wg Cdr Thomas said: ‘I will cope the same as at home but a higher tempo, it will be a bit more work as the guys are away from their families so they might need more help but this is what we are trained to do.
‘We will do our best in our plans across the world.’
The state- school educated officer will be responsible for 16 jets, 30 pilots and weapons system operators and around 200 ground crew at their base at RAF Marham in Norfolk.
Her sister, Janine, once described her in an interview as ‘fearless’ and a ‘speed freak’ who ‘loves to go faster, further – and to win’.
The announcement of a female commander is seen as hugely significant at a time of renewed debate over whether women will be allowed to serve on the frontline.
A review in December recommended that women soldiers should be allowed to fight in close combat roles such as the infantry for the first time.
‘What we’re trained to do’