Nigerian Air Force
| Nigerian Air Force | |
|---|---|
Nigerian Air Force emblem
|
|
| Founded | 18 April 1964 (52 years) |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| Type | Air force |
| Size | 10,000 active personnel |
| Part of | Nigerian Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Abuja, F.C.T. |
| Motto(s) | "Willing … Able … Ready" |
| Anniversaries | Armed Forces Day (January 15) |
| Engagements |
Nigerian Civil War First Liberian Civil War Sierra Leone Civil War Conflict in the Niger Delta Boko Haram insurgency Northern Mali War Invasion of the Gambia |
| Website | http://airforce.mil.ng/ |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Muhammadu Buhari |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Ensign |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, Aero L-39 Albatros |
| Fighter | Chengdu F-7 Airguard |
| Patrol | ATR 42 MP |
| Trainer | Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, MB 339A, L-39ZA Albatros |
| Transport | Aeritalia G.222, SA 330H Puma, Lockheed C-130 Hercules |
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 10,000 personnel and aircraft including 12 Chinese Chengdu F-7s, and 11 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft.
Although the Air Force was originally proposed in 1958, many lawmakers preferred to rely on the United Kingdom for air defence. But during peacekeeping operations in Congo and Tanganyika, the Nigerian Army had no air transport of its own, and so in 1962 the government began to recruit cadets for pilot training in various foreign countries, with the first ten being taught by the Egyptian Air Force.
The Nigerian Air Force was formally established on 18 April 1964 with the passage of the Air Force Act 1964 by the National Assembly. The Act stated that the 'Nigerian Air Force shall be charged with the defence of the Federal Republic by air, and to give effect thereto, the personnel shall be trained in such duties as in the air as well as on the ground. " The NAF was formed with technical assistance from West Germany. The air force started life as a transport unit with aircrew being trained in Canada, Ethiopia and India. The head of the German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG) was Colonel Gerhard Kahtz, and he became the first commander of the NAF. The nucleus of the NAF was thus established with the formation of the Nigerian Air Force headquarters at the Ministry of Defence.
The air force did not get a combat capability until a number of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union during the Nigerian Civil War. On 13 August 1967, following several damaging attacks by Biafran aircraft, the USSR started delivering first MiG-17s from Egypt to Kano IAP, simultaneously sending a large shipment aboard a Polish merchant. Initially two MiG-15UTIs (NAF601 and NAF 602), and eight MiG-17s (NAF603 to NAF610) were supplied to Nigeria. Later six Il-28 bombers, flown by Egyptian and Czech pilots, were delivered from Egypt and stationed at Calabar and Port Harcourt, and, the Air Combat Information Group says, 'were used to bomb military and civilian targets indiscriminately'.
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Wikipedia