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27 mars 2015 5 27 /03 /mars /2015 08:45
Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jets flying with Alenia G-222 (C-27 Spartan) photo Kenneth Iwelumo

Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jets flying with Alenia G-222 (C-27 Spartan) photo Kenneth Iwelumo

 

26 March 2015 by defenceWeb

 

The Nigerian Air Force has acquired at least two second hand Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainer and light attack aircraft as it continues to expand its aerial fleet.

 

One of the jets was seen passing through the United Kingdom on 25 March, having travelled from the United States via Iceland. It then continued to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on its way to Nigeria, reports Air Forces Daily.

 

It was flown by Air USA Inc, which specialises in military air combat readiness training and flies Hawks, Alpha Jets, MiG-29s and L-59 Super Albatroses. The Alpha Jet seen transiting the UK was cancelled from the United States register on 19 March together with a second Alpha Jet, both originally flown by the Luftwaffe before operating in the States.

 

The delivery status of the second aircraft is unclear. It is also not clear if the two Alpha Jets are attrition replacements or part of a larger batch being acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

 

Air USA Alpha Jets were converted for night vision goggle (NVG) operations, according to the company, and flight certified for operational use of TER, IMER and SUU-20 bomb racks.

 

Nigerian Alpha Jets have been used in the ground attack role to strike Boko Haram targets and a couple have been lost on operations: one crashed in Niger, killing two pilots, in May 2013 while another went down in September last year.

 

The NAF has recently reactivated a number of its Alpha Jets. A total of 24 were acquired in the 1980s but several have been lost in crashes. Apparently 11 have been made flyable again.

 

In addition to refurbishing some of its existing aircraft such as the Alpha Jets, L-39s, Super Pumas and C-130s, the NAF is also acquiring additional platforms. For instance, it recently inducted Gazelle helicopters, which are believed to have entered service in February this year.

 

Three Beechcraft King Air 350i light transport aircraft were delivered in August last year, together with two AgustaWestland AW101 VIP transport helicopters. The NAF is also acquiring six Mi-35M attack helicopters and 12 armed Mi-171Sh helicopters, which were ordered in August 2014.

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15 septembre 2014 1 15 /09 /septembre /2014 16:45
Nigerian military aircraft missing

 

15 September 2014 defenceWeb (Reuters)

 

The Nigerian military said on Sunday one of its fighter jets that was operating in a north-east state where the armed forces are fighting Islamist Boko Haram militants had gone missing.

 

A search and rescue operation was underway for the Nigerian Air Force Alpha jet which was on a routine operational mission on Friday over Adamawa state when contact was lost with the aircraft the Nigerian armed forces said in a statement.

 

The statement gave no more details and there was no other information available on whether the plane, which had left an air base at the Adamawa state capital Yola and had a crew of two, had crashed or been shot down.

 

Nigeria's military, backed by war planes, has been fighting to push back recent advances by Boko Haram into the north of Adamawa state and also towards Maiduguri, the state capital of neighbouring Borno state. The army said it beat back an attack outside Maiduguri on Friday.

 

Boko Haram, which has killed thousands since it launched its anti-government insurgency in the north-east in 2009, has in recent weeks captured and held a string of towns and villages in the region, a departure from its usual hit-and-run tactics.

 

Its leader Abubakar Shekau is apparently trying to follow the example of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has declared its own caliphate. Nigeria's government has vowed to take back the seized territory from Boko Haram.

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