Nigerian Air Force
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The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air force of Nigeria. It is one of the largest in West Africa, consisting of 100+ aircraft including SEPECAT Jaguars, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s, and Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, although in recent years many of them are no longer airworthy.
Although the Air Force was originally proposed in 1958, many lawmakers preferred to rely on the United Kingdom for air defence. But during peacekeeping operations in Congo and Tanganyika, the Nigerian Army Regiment had no air transport of their own, and in so 1962 the government began to recruit cadets for pilot training in various foreign countries, with the first 10 learning from the Ethiopian Air Force.
The NAF was officially created by an Act of Parliament in 1964. In its early days, many Air Force positions were filled by officers seconded from the West German Luftwaffe.
The Air Force was intensively engaged with the Biafran Air Force in the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970. Many of its aircraft were MiGs flown by Egyptian pilots.
As of 2004, the NAF is commanded by Air Marshal Jonah D Wuyep.
Reference
- Michael I. Draper and Frederick Forsyth, Shadows: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-1970 (Howell Press, 2000) ISBN 1902109635
External link
- Nigerian Air Force homepage (http://www.naf.gov.ng/naf_mainhome.htm)
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