Air Force Deploys Aircraft to Convey Weapons, Logistics to Northeast, Northwest

 

To send reinforcements, comprising weapons and logistics to soldiers in the war front, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday deployed the C-130H aircraft to the Northeast and North-west regions.

The redeployed aircraft is on its first run after it’s one year and half in-depth in-country Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM), the first of its kind in two decades.

At its inauguration at the Aircraft Maintenance Depot (ACMD) in Lagos on Monday, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said the refitting and in-depth maintenance of the aircraft was carried out in the country by NAF engineers in collaboration with their technical partners, Messrs Sabena Technics.

He said the PDM of the aircraft marked the beginning of a new dawn in the strategic plan to develop a robust capacity for in-country maintenance and sustenance of NAF platforms and equipment.

Abubakar said: “This aircraft will be deployed immediately to the Northeast and North-western parts of the country. Without this C-130, you cannot have a successful operation.

“How do you carry bombs and rockets? Which aircraft will carry them? It is the C-130 that carries them. Apart from that, how do you discharge food materials? Because of the shortage as a result of conflict, distribution of food items is done by the C-130.

“In-country maintenance is very important because it is all about building capacity. This is the first time in the history of the Nigerian Air Force that we are conducting a very successful PDM within Nigeria.

“It sends a good message that though we have technical partners, we also have technicians who are Nigerians that have participated to ensure the PDM is conducted locally.

“It has saved us foreign exchange. If we were to carry this aircraft outside Nigeria, we have to pay for cargo, and for it to be moved, it has to be dismantled, and we would have limited number of personnel that will be sent abroad for that.

“But now that it was done in Nigeria, everybody in that unit had the opportunity to really be part of the process, and in that wise, we are so excited.

“Also, presently, we just flagged off the PDM of the second one which is 912. The Pakistani Air Force is here working with us because they fly the same aircraft and have the capacity we believe we can tap from.”

Earlier, the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Abdul-Ganiyu Olabisi, in his welcome address, said the ceremony was a long time aspiration of the NAF to domesticate in-depth maintenance of the C-130H fleet which was the strategic objective for the establishment of the depot.

According to him, "Although an attempt was made between 1998 and 2000 to conduct periodic depot maintenance on 2 X C 130H aircraft, NAF910 and NAF912, sadly, the programme ended in a fiasco and the two aircraft have remained grounded from that time till date, spanning a period of almost two decades.

"Undaunted by this experience, the current NAF administration under the leadership of Air Marshal Abubakar has intensified effort since 2015 to conduct in-depth maintenance of NAF platforms, including the C-130H fleet in Nigeria.

"To achieve this objective, the administration accorded top priority to human capacity development for self-reliance and exploration of strategic partnership with other organisations.

"It was against this background that contract was awarded to Messrs Sabena Technics of France in November 2017 to conduct PDM of NAF 917 in Nigeria in conjunction with NAF engineers and technicians.”