Mariam al-Mansouri: The female UAE fighter pilot striking extremists. Major Mariam al-Mansouri, 35, the first female United Arab Emirates pilot of a fighter jet, has “led the squadron” of fighter jets that participated in raids Tuesday against the extremists, an Emirati source familiar with the matter said. Al-Mansouri is a graduate of Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in 2007 and a veteran pilot of F-16 warplanes.