Artillera: The women at the open door

Colombian Air Force · Photography and video · 2026

The series

Artillera follows the women who serve as door gunners on Colombian Air Force helicopters. It is one of the most exposed seats on the aircraft. Strapped in at the open door, behind the machine gun, the gunner protects the crew and the people on the ground below. The series looks at the job through the women who chose it.

Before the flight

She ties back her hair. Adjusts the vest. Loads the ammunition belt. One year on the gun now. The same small, practiced movements before every flight, because once the aircraft is in the air there is no room for anything left undone.

In the air

The door stays open from takeoff to landing, and the ground runs past, far below and fast. She watches it as if it were hers. Mind and body work at the limit every time she flies. She says the country she sees from that seat, and the people she protects down there, fill her with pride.

A decision

Asked why she chose this, she answered without hesitating: “It’s what I love. It’s what I always dreamed of being.” She is not a door gunner by chance. She decided to be one.

A. Franco, helicopter door gunner, Colombian Air Force. From the series Artillera, 2026.