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Nigerian Air Force
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| Nigerian Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1964 |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Air Marshal Paul Dike |
The Nigerian Air Force is the air arm of the Nigerian military.
|
The Nigerian Air Force was established in January 1964 with technical assistance from West Germany. The air force started life as a transport unit with aircrew being trained in Canada, Ethiopia and India.
The head of the West German Assistance Group was Colonel G Kahz, and he became the first commander of the NAF. The nucleus of the NAF was thus established with the formation of the Nigerian Air Force headquarters at the Ministry of Defence.
The air force did not get a combat capability until a number of MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union in 1966. Further soviet fighters and bombers were delivered during the Biafran War, although most were destroyed on the ground or written off.
The NAF's rank structure is similar RAF's rank structure from where its ranks were derived.
In descending order of importance the NAF officer ranks are:
- Marshal of the Air Force
- Air Chief Marshal
- Air Marshal
- Air Vice Marshal
- Air Commodore
- Group Captain
- Wing Commander
- Squadron Leader
- Flight Lieutenant
- Flying Officer
- Pilot Officer
In descending order of importance the NAF airman ranks are:
- Air Warrant Officer
- Master Warrant Officer
- Warrant Officer
- Flight Sergeant
- Sergeant
- Corporal
- Lance Corporal
- Aircraftman
- Combat aircraft
- 15 Chengdu F-7
- 32 MiG-21
- 18 SEPECAT Jaguar
- Trainers
- 12 MB-339
- 24 Aero L-39
- 37 Bulldog T1
- 24 Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet
- 20 Do 27
- 36 Do 28
- Transport aircraft
- 5 G.222
- 1 Boeing 707
- 1 Boeing 727
- 1 Boeing 737
- 1 BAe 125
- 2 Dassault Falcon 900
- 9 Do 228
- 6 Fokker F27
- 1 Fokker F28
- 1 Gulfstream II
- 1 Gulfstream IV
- 9 C-130
- Attack helicopters
- 14 Hughes 300
- 24 BO 105
- 6 Mi-24
- 9 Mi-34
- Transport helicopters
- 11 Eurocopter Puma
- 12 Eurocopter Super Puma
- 4 Mi-8
- Michael I. Draper and Frederick Forsyth, Shadows: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-1970 (Howell Press, 2000) ISBN 1-902109-63-5
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