Airforces

28 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS Africa

Nigeria completes

maintenance of FT-7

Above: Technicians involved in the fi rst in-house 400-hour inspection of a Nigerian Air Force

FT-7NI at Makurdi. NAF

THE NIGERIAN Air Force

(NAF) has undertaken

in-house maintenance

of a Chengdu FT/F-7 for

the first time. Engineers

and technicians from

131 Engineering Group

carried out the 400-

hours scheduled

maintenance inspection

at NAF Base Makurdi.

Conclusion of the work

was revealed on August 7

during a visit to Makurdi by

the Chief of the Air Staff, Air

Marshal Sadique Abubakar,

along with other senior

officers. The commander

of 131 Engineering

Group, Air Commodore

Pius Oahimire, said that

conducting such a high-

level inspection, without any

foreign assistance, was an

historic achievement. He

said the work had cost the

NAF just N3m, compared

with a bill for more than

N30m Nigeria would

have faced if the original

equipment manufacturer or

an external maintenance

facility had been employed.

Maintenance was completed

in three weeks and

involved removal, servicing,

testing and reinstalling the

engine and other major

components. Dave Allport

Malian Mi-24 removed

from storage

GERMAN PERSONNEL

have recovered of a Force

Aérienne de la République

du Mali (FARM, Malian

Republic Air Force) Mi-24D

Hind-D after a request

for help from the Forces

Armée Maliennes (FAMa,

Malian Armed Forces). A

Bundeswehr press release

on July 24 provided

details of the work.

The helicopter, TZ-407,

had been stored in Gao,

Mali since 2012 and was

in a poor state. FAMa

commanders asked the

liaison officer with the

German MINUSMA (United

Nations Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization

Mission in Mali) contingent

for assistance because the

forces did not have the

heavy cranes and other

equipment needed to lift

and move the helicopter.

After being loaded onto

a heavy-duty transporter,

the assault helicopter was

taken to the military facility,

near Mopti. The ultimate

fate of the helicopter is

unclear. Dave Allport

FARM Mi-24D TZ-407 is retrieved in

Gao by German personnel supporting

MINUSMA. Bundeswehr

Basler BT-

67 heads for

Mauritania

THE US Air Force is

seeking to purchase

a single Basler BT-67

special missions aircraft

and to modify another

for an undisclosed

customer – likely to be

Mauritania. The plans

were revealed on August

6, when the USAF issued

an amended request for

information (RFI). This

stipulates procurement of

one aircraft equipped for

intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance

(ISR) and medical

evacuation (medical), as

well as the upgrade to

the same configuration

of an aircraft that has

already been delivered.

The Force Aérienne de

la République Islamique

de Mauritanie (FAIM,

Mauritanian Islamic Air

Force) currently operates

a single BT-67 delivered

by January 2000. As of

2010-11 it had been fitted

with a forward-looking

infrared (FLIR) turret for

limited ISR operations.

Ivory Coast

receives two

An-26s from

Bulgaria

TWO SECOND-HAND

An-26B transports have

been delivered to the

Côte d’Ivoire Armée

de l’Air (Côte d’Ivoire

Air Force) and are in

service with the Groupe

Aérien de Transport

et de Liaison based at

Abidjan-Port Bouet.

They are the first of their

type for the service.

Acquired in Bulgaria,

the aircraft comprise

TU-VMA (c/n 9608, ex

LZ-ABJ) and TU-VMB

(c/n 13905, ex LZ-ABR).

The first, TU-VMA,

departed from Sofia,

Bulgaria, on July 19,

initially to Sfax-Thyna,

Tunisia, before continuing

via Niamey, Niger, then

on to Abidjan, where it

arrived the following day.

The second left Sofia the

same day and arrived

in Abidjan on July 23

after following a similar

route. Dave Allport

US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay

Egyptian Seasprite on exercise

AN ARAB Republic of

Egypt Air Force SH-2G

touches down on the

flight deck of the guided-

missile destroyer USS

Jason Dunham (DDG 109)

during exercise Eagle

Salute 18 in the Red Sea

on July 31. The Egyptian

Seasprite pilot was

greeted by LTCDR Andrew

Howerton, left, air boss for

Maritime Strike Squadron

(HSM) 48 ‘Vipers’.

Egypt operates ten

SH-2Gs – upgraded

ex-US Navy SH-2F

Seasprites – ordered

in 1995 and delivered

between October 1997

and 1999. The helicopters

serve with 37 Squadron

at Borg El Arab Air Base

southwest of Alexandria.

The US Navy’s Eagle

Salute 18 is a surface

exercise with Egyptian

naval forces conducted to

enhance interoperability

and warfighting readiness,

improve military

relationships and advance

operational capabilities.

28-29 News AFM Oct2018.indd 28 10/09/2018 14:16:56