- Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar visited the engineers working on the aircraft to see the level of work done on them
- The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) were delivered to NAF by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIM)
- NAF says one of the aircraft is beyond fixing
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has revealed that the ongoing reactivation of the Do-228 aircraft recently handed over to it by a sister agency, the immigration service, has reached an advanced stage. Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar inspected it.
Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) saw the level of work done on it when he carried out an on-the-site inspection visits to some units in Kaduna on 4 June 2018.
NAF said Abubakar also inspected the ongoing construction of headquarters complex for the Air Training Command in Kaduna and was pleased to observe that work was progressing as scheduled.
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A statement by the NAF also noted that the air frame of one of the three aircraft received from the NIS had been heavily corroded before it was handed over and therefore was beyond economic repairs.
“Furthermore, preliminary inspections have been conducted on the remaining two aircraft by NAF engineers and technicians at 431 Engineering Group, NAF Base Kaduna.
“One of the 2 repairable Do-238 aircraft that was at Kaduna civil airport has already been ferried to the Kaduna military airfield following initial maintenance activities by the NAF maintenance crew.
“In addition, the faded paintings on both aircraft have been replaced with military paint schemes to minimize corrosion and in preparation for subsequent deployment to operational theaters.
“The NAF is now awaiting the delivery of the required time change Items and other aircraft spares to enable the conduct of mandatory outstanding scheduled inspections on both aircraft.
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“Apart from its usefulness as a light liaison transport aircraft, the Do-228 could be employed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the counterinsurgency and other operations in the country.
“Consequently, by the time the reactivation is completed, the operational effectiveness of the NAF would be further boosted and the hitherto grounded aircraft prevented from total decay,” the NAF statement said.
NAIJ.com earlier reported Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is currently addressing new graduates of Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna state as they pass out of the training institution.
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Source: Naija.ng