NAF procures 19 aircraft, trains 200 pilots in 9 countries

The Nigerian Air Force says it is expecting the delivery of 19 new aircrafts to fight insecurity in the northeast.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, stated this on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Air Force to defend NAF 2021 budget.

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He said the Air Force had carried out operations for over 60,000 hours with half of time dedicated to the North-East.

“We’re expecting three J-17 fighters from Pakistan, 12 super Tucano from United States, one M-171 and three special mission aircrafts from NIMASA. We are talking of about 19 additional aircrafts,” he said.

He said one hanger had been relocated to Maiduguri, Borno State, to support aircraft maintenance in the region.

He said about 200 of its personnel were undergoing training in nine different countries.

Abubakar said the training was to further enhance the capacity of NAF personnel in air combat.

“As part of our capacity building initiatives, the Nigerian Air Force currently has about 200 personnel it is training in nine different countries of the world and the pilots will soon join their  colleagues in the fight to secure the country,” he said.