40 // APRIL 2018 #361 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comFlashpoint
iger’s military has been
confronting Jihadist
militant organisation
Boko Haram since it began its
insurgency in 2009, and this
has included incursions into the
country by rebels fleeing the
Nigerian armed forces’ offensive.
The situation escalated in
February 2014 when the
government of Niger arrested
around 20 fighters preparing
to attack the city of Diffa in
the southeast of Niger, close
to the border with Nigeria.
As a member of the Multinational
Joint Task Force (MNJTF)
mandated to defeat the
insurgency, Niger, like Chad, has
the right to pursue militants into
Nigerian territory if necessary.
In January 2015, Boko Haram
overran an MNJTF military base
in the northeastern Nigerian town
of Baga – close to the borders
with both Niger and Chad. The
Task Force’s response included
increasing troop numbers and
transferring its main headquarters
to N’Djamena, Chad.
The MNJTF is now organised
into four sectors (one per country)
with regional HQs in Mora
(Cameroon), Baga Sola (Chad),
Baga (Nigeria) and Diffa (Niger).Early air power
Created on August 1, 1961, a
national airline, the Escadrille
Nationale du Niger (ENN,Niger National Squadron), was
considered to be one of the
services of the Forces Armées
du Niger (FAN, Niger Armed
Forces). It later reorganised as
the Groupement Aérien National
(GAN, National Air Wing).
Its early equipment comprised
six MH.1521M Broussard
transports, four C-47s, an MD 312
Flamant and a Beechcraft E18S.
The Beechcraft was retired in
November 1964 before being sold
to Cannes-Mandelieu Airport in
France, where it is now exhibited
at the entrance to the airport.
Broussard serial 136/5U-MAE
was meanwhile lost in unknown
circumstances on July 31, 1967.
In 1969 the GAN acquired four
Nord 2501Ds from West German
stocks, an ex-French Air Force
Nord 2501F following in 1977.
The Noratlas transports were
joined by three F.337D Super
Skymasters in 1974, and on July
18 that year France donateda former Air France C-54.
Four years later the West German
government supplied three
Dornier Do 28D-2 Skyservant
utility aircraft and in April 1978
Niger took delivery of a VIP-
configured Boeing 737-200. The
jet, named Monts Bagzane after
the country’s highest point, served
on behalf of the government.
In January 1980, the GAN took
delivery of two C-130H (L-382G)
Hercules to replace the Noratlas
transports, but examples of
the French type remained in
service as late as 1991.
Niger received a Do 228-
201 from West Germany
on March 10, 1986 – which
was still fully operational
as of September 2009.
On April 16, 1997, C-130
5U-MBD, which had departed
Lomé in Togo, crashed 6.2 miles
(10km) from Niamey, killing 14.
It was ‘replaced’ two months
later by an An-26 acquired fromLibya. And in March 2000, the
second Hercules was badly
damaged after taxiing off the
runway, and later repaired.
The GAN became the Force
Aérienne du Niger (FAN, Niger Air
Force) on December 17, 2003.
Today, however, the defence
ministry’s website uses the title
Armée de l’Air du Niger. Base
Aérienne 101 Niamey is the
main facility, while a second air
base has been built at Diffa.Rotary debut
The air arm acquired its first
helicopters, two Mi-17s, in 2007.
On April 23 the following year the
fleet expanded with the delivery
of two Mi-24P attack helicopters.
In October 2008, Diamond Aircraft
handed over two DA42 MPP (Multi-
Purpose Platform) aircraft, which
are used for border surveillance
to prevent smuggling and to
protect critical infrastructures in
collaboration with eight TétrasNiger’s armed forces are relatively modest
in strength, numbering only around 15,000
personnel. Its air force is proportionately small
but has added a handful of capable assets in
Niger’s recent years, as Arnaud Delalande explains.
desert warriors
N
Above: Although of poor quality, this photo is interesting for showing both Niger’s Mi-24Ps – 5U-MHC (c/n 054376) and
5U-MHD (c/n 054377) – as well as a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, apparently 5U-MRY (c/n 208B-5024, ex N8130V).