CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Twenty-six women, the largest class in the history of the Israel Air Force (IAF) are enrolled in the preliminary pilot training course.

The record enrollment is the result of a policy change, instituted last summer, in the way the IAF identifies potential future pilots.

In the past, only those women who expressed an interest in enrolling in the three-year course were brought in for additional testing.

Under the new IAF policy, all female recruits who score high in their pre-army tests are called in for further testing so there's a much broader base from which to spot potential candidates for pilot training.

According to a senior IAF officer, statistics suggest that at least four members of the new class should complete the course.

"We understood that 17 airwomen in over a decade are more of a gimmick than a real policy," he said. "By changing the way we enlist the female soldiers, we are turning this policy into reality," he said.

Source: The Jerusalem Post