The school also delivers refresher
training to NAF pilots and IPs.
The last year for which training
syllabus data is known is 2009.
Then, student pilots were
expected to undergo around
50 hours of ab initio training at
301 FTS before proceeding to
303 FTS for 120 or so hours of
basic training on the L-39ZA.
Pilots in the transport stream
then underwent a flying course
on the Do 228, while those
destined for fighters went to
the 99 Air Weapons School –
now known as 407 (ex-117) Air
Combat Training Group (ACTG)
at Kainji – for at least 50 hours
of tactical training on the Alpha
Jet, followed by FT-7NI flying
with the operational conversion
unit (OCU) at Makurdi.
Pilots destined for helicopters
first complete their primary
flying training at 401 FTS, but the
NAF’s initial attempt to deliver
helicopter pilot training through
the now defunct 305 FTS at
Enugu was fraught with difficulty.
The school graduated a first
batch of 11 pilots (from an
intake of 17 students) between
1986 and 1994, using the
Hughes 300C, while a second
batch of six emerged between
2000 and 2003 using the
Mi-34S – before the Russian
helicopters were withdrawn
after early gearbox failures.
According to senior NAF
officials, the quality of training
provided was poor.
Since early 2012, the
NAF-run International
Helicopter Flying
School (IHFS) at Enugu has been
training rotary-wing pilots, the
facility gaining Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority certification
as an Approved Training
Organisation by August 2013.
Well staffed with IPs (unlike
305 FTS, which had only one
or two), IHFS trains civilian
and military pilots on a fleet
of at least four Robinson R66
helicopters. Some pilots also
receive instruction overseas.
After passing their primary
course at 401 FTS, student pilots
proceed to advanced flying
training at the International
Aviation College in Ilorin, for their
commercial pilot’s licence (CPL)
or to one of various countries
including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan,
South Africa, the UK, the US
and others in Eastern Europe.
On gaining their licence, they
take conversion and captaincy
training on the AW109 LUH with
405 (ex-1130 Helicopter Combat
Training Group (HCTG) at Enugu,
followed by type conversion
onto specific helicopters, withvarious operational units like
115 SOG at Port Harcourt for
training on the Mi-24/35 and
presumably the EC135.
Kaduna is a hub for NAF
training and research and
development (R&D) activities. Its
units include the Ground Training
Group; Regimental Training
Centre; Air Force Institute of
Technology; and the Air Force
Research and Development
Centre (AFRDC), set up in 2015
after the NAF formulated
its R&D policy in 2012.
Earlier this year the NAF Institute
of Safety (NAFIS) was in the
process of moving from Ipetu-
Ijesha to Kaduna. Meanwhile,
other training school units are
based at 451 NAF Station, Jos.
There’s been a sharper focus
on training in recent years, both
locally delivered (known as
‘lotrac’) and overseas. In 2016,
the NAF trained 869 personnel
abroad, including 101 pilots and
357 engineers, while 4,868 were
trained locally – among them
131 pilots and 643 engineers.In April a batch of pilots
returned after completing
tactical combat training with the
Egyptian Air Force. Another 29
are training in South Africa, while
around ten more are at civilian
schools in the UK and in Jordan
at the King Hussein Air College.
On April 23, NAF Day, six pilots
received their wings – among
them four helicopter pilots from
the IHFS at Enugu and two from
the King Hussein Air College.
Since then, ten pilots were
‘winged’ in June after gaining
their CPLs from Westline Aviation
in South Africa while two more
combat pilots were winged
in early July after completion
of their 18-month Specialized
Undergraduate Pilot Training
with the US Air Force at Laughlin
Air Force Base, Texas.Logistics Command
Headquartered at Ikeja in Lagos,
Logistics Command procures
equipment and maintains it in a
state of operational readiness.
Units include 531 (ex-401)G222 NAF 955 was acquired from Alenia in 2008 as part of a 2005 deal to reactivate five older but unserviceable aircraft acquired in 1984-85 that are serialled
950-954. In the event only around two aircraft – NAF 950 and possibly 952 – were actually returned to service. Two others – 953 and 954 – have been stored at
Ikeja, without wings, since December 2005. The two or three airworthy examples were heavily utilised in 2014-15 for troop transport but are currently thought to
be inoperable. Around two examples were undergoing maintenance at Ikeja as of early 2017.
Above: The NAF is one of the few air forces operating UAVs in an armed reconnaissance role. Chinese-supplied CH-3As
are used at distances of around 124 miles (200km) from their base stations on armed ISR/air interdiction missions. NAF54 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
FORCE REPORT Nigerian Air Force Part One