Thumbs up from UAE’s first female fighter pilot

With visor strategically placed and a determined thumbs-up from the cockpit, the pilot leading the UAE’s airstrikes on Syrian jihadists pulls off the Top Gun look with aplomb.

But Tom Cruise’s Maverick character and his UAE counterpart have one major difference — the pilot behind the F-16 fighter jet is a woman.

Major Mariam Al Mansouri, 35, has been causing a stir on social media since pictures of her were released to the media.

According to Fox News, Maj Al Mansouri led last Monday night’s attack on Islamic State (IS) fundamentalists.

Dubbed ‘Lady Liberty’ by the American press, her involvement in bombing a country where women’s rights are restricted has been welcomed by equality campaigners.

Despite flying right into the danger zone, Maj Al Mansouri has also received sexist comments, with one American news presenter jokingly asking if she represented “boobs on the ground”.

A similar stir was caused when, in July 2008, Chantelle Taylor became the first British female soldier to kill an enemy insurgent in battle while helping tackle the Taliban.