Nigerian Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 10,000 personnel and aircraft including 15 Chinese Chengdu F-7s,  and 24 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets,  armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft. Previous combat aircraft, including 32 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s, Sepecat Jaguars, and Russian made bombers have been withdrawn from use.

History
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 had no air transport of its own, and so in 1962 the government began to recruit cadets for pilot training in various foreign countries, with the first ten being taught by the Egyptian Air Force.

The Nigerian Air Force was formally established on 18 April 1964 with the passage of the Air Force Act 1964 by the National Assembly. The Act stated that the 'Nigerian Air Force shall be charged with the defence of the Federal Republic by air, and to give effect thereto, the personnel shall be trained in such duties as in the air as well as on the ground. " The NAF was formed 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 German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG) was Colonel Gerhard Kahtz, 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 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union during the Nigerian Civil War. On 13 August 1967, following several damaging attacks by Biafran aircraft, the USSR started delivering first MiG-17s from Egypt to Kano IAP, simultaneously sending a large shipment aboard a Polish merchant. Initially two MiG-15UTIs (NAF601 and NAF 602), and eight MiG-17s (NAF603 to NAF610) were supplied to Nigeria. Later six Il-28 bombers, flown by Egyptian and Czech pilots, were delivered from Egypt and stationed at Calabar and Port Harcourt, and, the Air Combat Information Group says, 'were used to bomb military and civilian targets indiscriminately'.

In July 1971 the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that Nigeria had 7,000 air force personnel and 32 combat aircraft: six Ilyushin Il-28 medium bombers, eight MiG-17s, eight Aero L-29 Delfín jet trainers, and 10 P-149D trainers. Other aircraft included six C-47s, 20 Do-27/28s, and eight Westland Whirlwind and Alouette II helicopters.

During the 1970s, Nigeria bought Lockheed C-130 Hercules from the United States. Six were acquired, and officers reportedly received US$3.6 million dollars in kickbacks, compared to a total purchase price of $45 million.

25 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MFs and six MiG-21UM were delivered in 1975. Three were lost in accidents, and one is preserved as a gate guard at Abuja air base. All were put into storage in the 1990s due to lack of spares and finance.

Jimi Peters writes: '..the 1975-1980 NAF development plan restructured NAF ..formations' into group (air force) level units that reported to air force headquarters. That structure, he went on, was found too cumbersome, and thus two intermediate command (military formation)s were formed in 1978: NAF Tactical Air Command and NAF Training Command.

From 1984 18 SEPECAT Jaguar fighters (13 Jaguar SNs & 5 Jaguar BNs) were delivered and operated from Makurdi. They were retired in 1991. Nigeria purchased 24 Aero L-39 Albatros armed jet trainers in 1986-87 and tried to obtain 27 more in 1991 but the International Monetary Fund vetoed the purchase. It also prevented a 1994 purchase of 7 Pilatus PC-7's despite approval by the government of Switzerland.

On 26 September 1992, a NAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules serial number 911 crashed three minutes after take-off from Lagos, Nigeria, when three engines failed, possibly due to high take-off weight. All 158 people on board were killed, including 8 foreign nationals.

Twenty-first century
In 2005 it was reported that Nigeria has approved $251 million USD to purchase 15 Chengdu F-7 fighters from China. The deal includes 12 F-7NI (NI = Nigeria) single seat fighters, and 3 FT-7NI dual-seat trainers. The $251 ($252?) million package included $220 million for 15 aircraft, plus $32 million for armaments, including 20 live PL-9C AAM, 10 training PL-9 rounds, unguided rockets, and 250/500 kg bombs. Nigerian pilots began their training in China in 2008, with delivery of the aircraft to begin in 2009. Nigeria had previously considered a $160 million deal to refurbish its fleet of MiG-21's by Aerostar/Elbit Systems, IAI, and RSK MiG. However, with the new F-7 purchase, the government of Nigeria has decided to suspend the refurbishment option and grounded its fleet of MiG 21's.

In September 2009 it was reported that U.S. Air Forces Africa and 118th Airlift Wing personnel had managed to make one of the Air Force's C-130s flyable again, and that it would be dispatched to Germany for further repairs.

On March 22, 2011, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas told The Associated Press that a Chinese-made F7 fighter crashed near Kano Airport. Anas said the pilot died in the crash and no other details were provided. So far all three of the F7 trainers have crashed and been written off.

On 24 March 2011, the new Air Officer Commanding of NAF Mobility Command, Air Vice Marshall John Aprekuma, said the newly established Air Force Mobility Command headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State is part of the Federal Government's strategy to protect its socio-economic interest in the Niger Delta. He said also that the presence of the command's headquarters would bring about development to the people of the state because the Nigerian Air Force is a disciplined and result-oriented military organisation.

On 9 December 2011, the Nigerian Air Force will on get its first female pilot, Cadet Blessing Liman. The inclusion of women in the training followed a directive by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Command structure
The organization of the air force has been fashioned to meet current requirements of the service and the defence needs of the country. Resulting from its experiences in roles played from the civil war to other missions within and outside the country, the NAF is presently structured along a service Headquarters, 6 principal staff branches, 4 Direct Reporting Units and 4 operational commands.

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is the principal adviser to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff, on air related defence matters. Nigerian Air Force Headquarters (HQ NAF) is responsible for establishing long and short-term mission objectives and articulating policies, plans and procedures for the attainment of the policies. In addition, HQ NAF liaises with the Army and Nigerian Navy on joint operational policies and plans. HQ NAF consists of the office of the Chief of the Air Staff and 6 staff branches namely; Policy and Plans Branch, Operations Branch, Logistics Branch, Administration Branch, Inspections Branch and Air Secretary Branch. Each of the branches is headed by an Air Officer.


 * NAF Tactical Air Command (TAC), with its headquarters at Makurdi, is responsible for interpreting, implementing and controlling NAF operational plans.
 * 64 Air Defence Group (ADG) Ikeja
 * 75 Strike Group (75 STG)
 * 81 Air Maritime Group (81 AMG), Benin
 * 88 Military Airlift Group (88 MAG), Ikeja (C-130)
 * 97 Air Special Operations Group (97 SOG), Port Harcourt
 * 99 Air Weapon School (99 AWS) Kainji
 * 33 Logistics Group, Makurdi (Makurdi Airport?)
 * NAF Hospital, Makurdi


 * NAF Training Command (TC), located at Kaduna, is chiefly responsible for implementing NAF training policies. Ground training is also provided for support services and technical personnel. Seemingly headed by Air Vice Marshal Isiyaku Umar since November 2012.
 * 301 Flying Training School, Kaduna (Old Kaduna Airport)
 * 303 Flying Training School, Kano
 * 305 Flying Training School, Enugu.
 * 320 Technical Training Group, Kaduna
 * 325 Ground Training Group, Kaduna
 * 330 NAF Station, Jos
 * 333 Logistics Group, Kaduna
 * 335 Base Services Group, Kaduna
 * 345 Aeoromedical Hospital, Kaduna
 * NAF Hospital, Jos
 * The Aeoromedical Centre Project at Kaduna


 * NAF Logistics Command (LC), headquartered at Ikeja, Lagos, is tasked to procure, maintain and sustain equipment in a state of operational readiness and at a minimum cost consistent with NAF mission requirements.
 * 401 Aircraft Maintenance Depot (401 ACMD), Ikeja
 * 403 Electronic Maintenance Depot (403 EMD), Shasha
 * 405 Central Armament Depot (405 CAD), Makurdi
 * 407 Equipment Supply Depot (407 ESD), Ikeja
 * 435 Base Service Group (435 BSG), Ikeja
 * 445 NAF Hospital (445 NAF Hospital), Ikeja


 * NAF Mobility Command headquarted at Yenagoa, was established in 2011. It has seven units spread across Lagos, Kwara (Illorin), Cross Rivers (Calabar) and Delta (Warri) states as well as Abuja and Bayelsa (Yenagoa). The Mobility Command has been given the responsibility to perform the airpower roles of tactical and strategic airlift in support of government and military operations.


 * Detachments, Wings and Forward Operational Bases include:
 * 61 NAF Detachment, Warri
 * NAF Detachment, Minna
 * 204 Wing, Maiduguri
 * 227 Wing, Ilorin
 * NAF Calabar (FOB)
 * NAF Ibadan (FOB)
 * NAF Sokoto (FOB)

Bases

 * NAF Ikeja based within Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
 * NAF Benin.
 * NAF Minna is based within Minna Airport.
 * NAF Kainji.
 * NAF Makurdi based within Makurdi Airport.
 * NAF Kaduna is the Old Kaduna Airport.
 * NAF Kano is based within Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport
 * NAF Enugu is based within Akanu Ibiam International Airport
 * NAF Jos.
 * NAF Shasha.

Rank structure
The NAF's rank structure is similar to the British Royal Air Force's rank structure from where its ranks were derived.

Officers
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

Airmen
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