Major Esra Özatay became the first female wing commander of the Turkish Air Force after taking control of the 134th Wing on Thursday.
The 39-year-old accepted the command of the 134th Wing, the national aerobatics team of the Turkish Air Force, also known as the Turkish Stars, from lieutenant colonel Şenol Çetin during a command ceremony on Thursday.
Özatay graduated from the Turkish Air Force Academy in 1998. She was later appointed to the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in Konya province where she flew with an F-5 as a fighter pilot. She was later appointed to the squadron in 2014.
Turkish Stars fly with eight Canadair NF-5 fighter planes obtained from the Royal Netherlands Air Force, making them the only aerobatics team with formations of eight supersonic aircraft and one of the few national aerobatics teams to fly supersonic aircraft.
