The Nigerian Air Force said the ongoing reactivation of the Do-228 aircraft received from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recently had reached an advanced stage.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that NIS recently handed over the Do-228 aircraft to the NAF for reactivation.
The NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, AVM. Olatokunbo Adesanya, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
He said that the extent of work was witnessed by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during on-the-site inspection visit to some units in Kaduna on Monday.
Adesanya said: “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.”
Adesanya added that when the reactivation was completed, the operational effectiveness of the NAF would be further boosted.
He said that Abubakar also inspected the ongoing construction of headquarters complex for the Air Training Command, Kaduna.
The director said that the airframe of one of the three aircraft received from the NIS had been heavily corroded before it was handed over and therefore beyond economic repairs.
He said that preliminary inspections have been conducted on the remaining two aircraft by NAF engineers and technicians at 431 Engineering Group, NAF Base Kaduna.
He said: “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.”
He said that the faded paintings on both aircraft have been replaced with military paint schemes to minimise corrosion and in preparation for subsequent deployment to operational theaters.
Adesanya said NAF was awaiting the delivery of the required Time Change Items and other aircraft spares to enable it conduct of mandatory outstanding scheduled inspections on both aircraft.
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