Stories by Musa Umar Bologi
Abuja
The Chief of the Air Staff (COAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has said that the over 5,000 air operations against insurgency explained the success recorded by the Operation Lafiya Dole in the North East.
Speaking at a Press Conference marking the 52nd Nigerian Air Force Day the Air Chief said personnel of the Nigerian Air Force are engaged in several operations across the country, with over 300 personnel fighting alongside the army in the North East.
Apart from air support to the army, Air Chief said NAF personnel were also engaged in transportation, medical and evacuation in various operation across the country.
He said the NAF re-union, which would hold in Bauchi from 12 to 15, April 2016 is an avenue for serving and retired air personnel to rub minds on the operations of the service and how to move the service to the next level.
“The theme of this year’s re-union, “Re-uniting for Enhanced Service Delivery and Operational Effectiveness,” was carefully chosen because we believe that retired personnel are reservoir of knowledge, which we can tap from. Bauchi was also chosen because of its closeness to the theater of operation,” he said.
He said one major challenge facing the NAF was in the area of maintenance, adding that they have gone into collaboration with universities in the country to solve the problem.
“Many of our equipment are not produced here and it takes months before they are delivered. Through collaborations with some universities here in the country we are solving this problem. We have been able to produce some of the things we need here. We have developed our Diaphragms and electrolytes through such collaborations,” he said.
