Meet 'Lady Liberty': The UAE's first female fighter pilot leads mission against IS

Major Mariam Al Mansouri was one of the first three to join the Emirati air force when they began to admit women, after she graduated from flight school in 2007.

The 35-year-old, who has been dubbed "Lady Liberty" served in the country's army before she began training as a fighter pilot.

Earlier this year, the Emirati government presented Maj Mansouri the 'Pride of the Emirates' medal for excellence in her field.

On Monday, the Abu Dhabi-born pilot flew out in an F-16 Desert Falcon to join the US and other forces as they began air strikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the United States, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show:

 "She is a fully qualified, highly trained, combat-ready pilot, and she led the mission. Actually, funny story is, the US tanker pilots called in for air refueling and asked for the UAE mission, and when they heard a female voice on the other side, they actually paused for about 20 seconds, radio silence."

Maj Mansouri told CNN that she made up her mind to become a fighter pilot when she finished high school but "at that time the doors were not open for females to be pilots" so she had to wait nearly 10 years to fulfill her dream.

She said: "Whenever a woman enters a male-dominated field they find the same hesitation, the same prejudice, the same stereotype."

"I had to improve myself by just being determined and having skill and knowledge enough to prove that I can perform as skilfully as the men."

Although Maj Mansouri has extensive flight experience and has flown right into the danger zone, she has also received sexist comments, with one American news presenter jokingly asking if she represented "boobs on the ground".