Nigeria Air Force acquires 18 attack helicopters from US, Turkey
Tamarauemi Ebimini
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Hassan Abubakar, says the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) will soon take delivery of 18 attack helicopters to boost its fleet of aircraft.
Mr Abubakar said this at a one-day tour of formations and units under the NAF 115 Special Operations Group (SOG) in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He said the United States would supply 12 attack helicopters while the Turkish government would provide another six helicopters in September.
Mr Abubakar said he visited the state to commiserate with families of the NAF pilots and crew that died in the ill-fated helicopter crash in Niger on Aug. 14.
The Air Force chief said the deceased crew onboard the crashed aircraft included the pilot, co-pilot and two airmen – who oversaw the cabin.
He said the Air Force was currently putting measures in place to put an end to crashes of military aircraft in the country.
According to him, the measures included setting up an air crash investigation board to detect the probable causes of the crash to mitigate future recurrence.
Mr Abubakar said the air force would continue to intensify the deployment of its attack helicopters in clamping down on illegal refineries in the Niger Delta.
He said that joint operations with sister security agencies had led to the destruction of several illegal refining sites and the confiscation of vessels used in stealing crude oil from the region.
