NAF acquires 38 new aircraft to fight insurgency

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has said that a total of 38 new aircraft have been inducted into the inventory of the Nigerian Air Force to further combat the insurgency activities in the country

Amao disclosed this in the latest edition of the Airman, a magazine of the Nigerian Air Force made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

This came just as he assured the nation that the Air Force, in synergy with other security agencies, would continue to sustain its air operations against all criminal elements in the country to enable law-abiding citizens to carry out their legitimate duties without fear.

According to him, the latest addition to the fleet included the 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft recently acquired by the Federal Government.

Amao said while some of the aircraft had been deployed to tackle insecurity in some parts of the country, the others were being used to upscale its pilots’ training.

According to him “Prior to the coming on board of the President Buhari-led administration in 2015, the NAF was in the pitiable state owing to neglect as most of its platforms were grounded or in states of disrepair.

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“The NAF can now boast of 38 brand new aircraft to tackle various security challenges and upscale its pilots’ training. The latest addition to the list is the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft which were recently inducted into the NAF order of Battle.

“The acquisitions and reactivation, as well as the emplacement of a robust logistics support structure, have enabled the NAF to raise the serviceability status from about 35 per cent in 2015 to about 72 per cent as of September 2021.”

He also disclosed that 173 pilots have been trained in the last six years with additional 155 student pilots undergoing training.

Amao, however, said the Air Force has introduced 11 new doctrines to guide its operations.

According to him, the doctrines are based on analysis of the contemporary security environment as well as operational experiences, adding that competencies in the Air Force are now being guided by the doctrines.