The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has completed the in-country Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) of a C-130H aircraft, NAF 917, making it the first time in the history of the service.
This came barely a week after receiving three L-39ZA aircraft that were reactivated in-country to enhance the number of serviceable fighter jets in its inventory.
The acceptance ceremony for NAF 917, which took place at the 631 Aircraft Maintenance Depot (631 ACMD), Ikeja, Lagos Thursday also witnessed the flag-off of the PDM of another C-130H aircraft, NAF 913.
According to NAF slokesperson, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the local reactivation of NAF 917, which was carried out by Messrs SABENA TECHNICS of France in conjunction with NAF engineers and technicians, involved extensive disassembly of the aircraft parts as well as inspection, repair and overhaul of components, amongst others.
“The involvement of NAF personnel in the reactivation was to further expose them to every stage of the in-depth maintenance process, with a view to building the NAF’s inherent maintenance capabilities,” he said.
Speaking during the acceptance ceremony, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, stated that the reactivation would impact on NAF efforts towards providing routine support and combat sustainment for NAF as well as Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) operations.
He said that the in-country maintenance had not only resulted in substantial foreign exchange savings for Nigeria but also marked the beginning of a new dawn in NAF’s strategic plan to develop a robust capacity for in-country maintenance and sustenance of platforms and equipment.
The Air Chief said the successful execution of the PDM had further reinforced the NAF’s belief that, with the right attitude, dedication and encouragement, the Service would make huge progress and achieve success in human capacity development drive in support of national security imperatives.
“The significance of today’s acceptance ceremony can best be appreciated by acknowledging the critical role of airlift in ensuring that logistics requirements of our troops involved in various internal security operations are met within the shortest possible time,” he said.
“The C-130H fleet, in particular, has been one of the key fulcrums in providing sustainment to our troops involved in ongoing internal security operations through airlift and movement of troops, equipment, armament and other materiel.
The C-130H has also been critical to NAF response to emergencies or in fulfilling Nigeria’s responsibilities to international peace keeping operations and ensuring stability, not just in the West African sub-region but also across the Continent.”
The CAS cited examples of operations in which the C-130H played critical roles to include ECOMOG operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, airlift of troops to Congo, Mali, Sudan as well as the recent success of the ECOWAS Military Intervention Group (ECOMIG) operation in the Gambia through airlift of troops and materiel to and from the theatre of operation and a host of other peace keeping operations.
