The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is working towards establishing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) wings in Lagos, Calabar and Port Harcourt to support the efforts of other security agencies in maintaining the security of the maritime environment.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar disclosed this Wednesday when he played host to the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jimoh at the NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
He also disclosed that the NAF is set to deploy air assets and special forces personnel to protect NIMASA;s Deep Blue Project, a security initiative, which take off next month, aimed to tackle insecurity on Nigeria’s territorial waters.
The Air Chief said despite the fact that the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) signed between NAF and NIMASA IN 2013 had elapsed, the NAF had continued to play crucial roles, working very closely with the Nigerian Navy, using the NAF ATR 42 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), which had participated in several exercises within Nigeria’s maritime environment.
The CAS said the UAVs deployed at the newly established Combat Reconnaissance Group (203 CRG) in Gombe state could be deployed to any part of the country coastal locations, “especially given the crucial importance of the maritime environment to the survival of the country.”
He said the DG’s visit was auspicious and would mark a new era in moving NAF’s partnership with NIMASA to a much higher level, and assured him that the NAF would do everything possible for the success of the Deep Blue Project.
In his remarks the DG NIMASA said both NAF AND NIMASA have mandates that are interwoven, as they stands for zero tolerance to insecurity. He said NAF’s deployment of its air assets and Special Forces would help tackle the issues of insecurity head-on for the overall good of Nigeria’s Maritime Sector and the Nation as a whole.
