BEEGEAGLE’S BLOG
31 March, 2014
Reliable reports reaching Beegeagle’s Blog indicate that the Nigerian Air Force may have received a major boost to its counterinsurgency operational capabilities with the delivery last week of an unknown number of the highly rated ALX Super Tucano ground attack aircraft.
At about 1100 hrs on Saturday 29 March, at least two units of the potent aircraft were spotted while circling to land at Makurdi in central Nigeria and they were reportedly painted in a grey colour scheme. The aircraft reportedly flew in from Abuja.
As of yesterday, feelers indicated that the ALX Super Tucano aircraft are sure to be unveiled at the biennial Nigerian Air Force AIR EXPO, the third edition of which takes place this year in which the NAF are marking the golden jubilee of their coming into being as the air warfare arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
It was further gathered that details on the induction such as the precise number acquired as well as static and aerial displays of the potent aircraft shall be made available at the event.
Beegeagle’s Bloggers say ‘kudos’ to the Federal Government for the seemingly renewed interest in boosting the combat power of the NAF. It would be recalled that the NAF in 2013-2014 are believed to have either placed orders for or taken delivery of a mix of nineteen transport/assault/attack helicopters including three Mi-35P attack helicopters, six advanced Mi-35M night attack helicopters, four Mi-17 transport helicopters and six Mi-171Sh Terminator assault helicopters.
Going back to 2010, the NAF have either commenced or completed construction work on new aircraft hangars at no less than seven airbases. Of the lot, only Ilorin is a new base, with the rest being decades old. This has led savvy watchers of the NAF to suggest an incoming cascade of airframes.
Indeed, a year ago while inspecting construction work at the Benin airbase, the incumbent Chief of Defence Staff (then Chief of the Air Staff) called for work to be expedited on the construction of the hangar in view of the imminent delivery of unspecified new aircraft.
SEE
BACKGROUNDER
http://www.beegeagle.wordpress.com/tag/a29-super-tucano/
HANGARS GALORE!
Beegeagle's Blog 
Shieeeeee
Please don’t toy with my emotions……..
Ah, just one sef I don belleful small
We should buy them in hundreds over the next few years.
They are very cheap to operate, can loiter in the air on long surveillance missions, can carry precision glide bombs, guided missiles, super accurate rockets, two machine guns on the wings, also the modern data link is battlefield of the future. Can support police operations, support pipeline monitoring and patrol, prevent oil theft, track and react quickly to Fulani herdsmen and farmers tensions, patrol borders, monitor natural disasters et.c, et.c .
A key advantage is the combination of surveillance gear and data link.
Put simply, maps, pictures and videos of trouble spots can be sent from the aircraft to field commanders and escalated through the chain of command to say the Commander In Chief’s computer in a matter of minutes. This facilitates quick decision making and agility in government,
Supported!
Why is the Nigerian air force addicted to subsonic light fighter jets,?
Because in a low intensity, close support role they are fucking awesome
I agree entirely with Peccavi. If the NAF has indeed taken delivery of Super Tucano aircraft, the men on the ground will have an excellent platform to utilise in a close air support role.
It is an excellent aircraft and can fulfil multiple missions.
I admit it…I am jealous!
Rgds,
Eeben
This is a valid question.
I think it is all coming from doctrine and mission statement. The force has never seen itself as a power projection force for the achievement of national objectives on the international stage but a mere support service for the Nigerian army and Navy. Given this institutional self image and mission, platforms were acquired to achieve this modest objective and Nigeria not having any immediate hostile neighbours, the platforms chosen were mainly trainer jets with secondary attack capabilities A medium term plan to acquire deep strike aircraft were only partially (and mediocrely) achieved with the Selecta. Jaguar
In the late 70s and 80s when we had a purposeful foreign policy and national power projection objectives within sub Saharan Africa we were on the way to acquiring matching platforms but of course all these plans were aborted by the IBB regime and its policy of regime protection at all cost after the involvement of air force officers in a coup attempt.
With contemporary geo political issues in Northwest Africa, Gulf of Guinea and the fact that even less endowed African countries have acquired or are acquiring intimidating air power projection capabilities, Nigeria is expected to increase the acquisition rate of 4th and 4.5 generation aircraft with an astute focus on local manufacturing value add, local support and technology acquisition.
*sepecat jaguar*
Subsonic platforms are what we need at the moment not supersonic jets, although the time for that will also come (probably closer than we think if the SU-30 story is accurate).
Well done NAF planners, I hope the right number of platforms were ordered.
FROM JACKBOB IN JOS:
“A new turboprop plane has been
flying around Jos today. It seems to
be a Super Tucano”
Pictures?
If it is flying around Jos that means it is already operational which is not surprising.
Recall someone’s post on this blog not too long ago that the old Tucano trainers and the new Super Tucano ALX are aircraft that generations of NAF pilots have been training with during overseas courses in the US
That is just the natural progression. Jos and Makurdi are no more than 200 miles apart and Jos has an airforce station. Methinks they just went there to show NAF personnel the new airframes and to make a stand on the turbulent Jos Plateau.
On NTA News, I have seen a pairs of Mi-35P and Agusta A109 helos over Jos, particularly around July 2012 when the STF troops combed the highlands, haven asked herdsmen to evacuate same shortly after a senator lost his life in a scare.
BTW, the correspondent who sent that appears to work for either an international NGO, missionary organisation or a diplomatic mission in Jos.
Finally, BH antidote is about to be unleashed ? Let it be true !
This may explain where some of the air force assets are.
http://www.channelstv.com/home/2014/03/31/major-military-operations-begin-in-benue-nasarawa-and-plateau/
More than 800 hundred NA troops arrived Makurdi yesterday from the South and have been deploy to Ukpiam,Umenger,Kaseyo,Torkula and other villages on the border with Nasarawa State.
Also NASME and 72 SF Battalion now have new commandant and CO respectively.
The chemical weapons those Fulani herdsmen used against Tiv militia almost finished the attackers,with more 30 casulties on the fulani herdmen and their mercenaries again 7 Tiv fighters found dead without gun shot wound or matchet cut but they had foam on their mouth!
My thought is that they used Nerve Gas!investigation is ongoing on the type of chemical weapon used.
@ Igbi,I have given you evidence.
Thanks for the update @gbash10 and your report of the Super Tucanos was priceless, lol.
So oga gbash10 was right when he said 72 SF was compromised. Worrying development if this is happening in an area with not too much tension. I dread to think what is going on in terms of 5th columnists in the NE Nigeria AOR.
Thank you sir, you are once again one of my top commentators. But I have to tell you that I do not doubt that the miscreants were using chemical weapons, all I doubted was the involvement of the military. I think I wasn’t very clear. But I have to congratulate you on the precision of this your last writeup.
oga gbash
well done for your COMMENTS ( pele) means sorry in Yoruba make you no vex too much. We have been with you for a long time so we know when you talk you always tend to talk from a point of integrity and honesty . oga igbi we all know him by now and as the reports are showing you have been vindicated. So my brother keep up the good work especially on the NAF.
It looks like we have multiple operations on-going from the middle-belt to lake chad region. This is why I hope they have ordered the requisite number of Super Tucano aircraft.
Should be 24 to start with and 12 every year for the next 5 years.
Chemical weapons? A bit far fetched, weaponised chemical agents are difficult to obtain, store and transport and in the hands of the ill equipped and untrained are just as dangerous to the users as their potential victims.
What is the delivery mechanism
If there are bodies with the symptoms such as you describe then I will ask as well are their dead livestock as well? An unusual smell?
It is more likely that someone has poisoned wells or other water points than used chemical weapons.
I once met someone who claimed to have been a commander in a group that was planning to overthrow the last military government.
Their game plan was massive insurrections all around the country causing the deployment and mobilisation of the army,
This would draw forces away from the capital and also give sympathetic commanders in the military, the troops, ammo and transport to mount a coup.
I thought the fellow was just a braggart but what is going on now is exactly the plan he described and in exactly the same locations.
Well it was just gist in a bar but I thought it worth sharing
You were right to think the guy was a braggart.
The internal conflicts are fueled by the following reasons, in no particular order.
1) The army has lost some of the fear factor it used to have.
2) The military capacity available is too small when compared to the size of the nation
3) The inability to “fix” the police – A lot of the task the army is doing should be done by the police.
4) The impression that the hand of the military can be stayed by political maneuverings
5) The preference of politicians to play politics with every and any thing.
6) Pressure on the Land – 170million people trying to share 1million square Kilometers.
7) Nigeria has a demographic bloom of young people – Young under-educated men with no chance of getting a good job equals to violence.
8) The ready availability of doctrines and methods from the internet – Do you want start a terrorist cell? or maybe explain why killing babies is ok? there’s a website for that.
9) Improved communications because of wireless, internet and satellite technologies – People that always had the intention to rise up are now more likely to find each other.
10) The impression that the government is not “worthy” and so therefore, should be fought against – Think corruption, incompetence, nepotism, etc., etc.
For a “Braggart” to engineer the above, he or she need a twenty year head start, at least.
Good analysis.
It is a fairly fascinating but dangerous game ‘How would I plot a coup or mount an armed insurrection’ so I won’t go any further.
Agreed.
What I hope to see rolling in 2014
+ six units of refurbished and upgraded Su-30MKN.
* sixteen ALX Super Tucano
* all pending deliveries on the haul of Mi-35P/Mi-17/Mi-171Sh Terminator ordered in the 3-4-6 ratio
2015
* eight units of ALX Super Tucano
* eight units (two trainer and six multirole variants) of JF17 Thunder
* six units of Mi-35M attack helics
2016
* six units of JF17 Thunder
* eight units of ALX Super Tucano
2017
* sixteen units of JF17 Thunder built in Nigeria
2019
place an order for six Su-35s.
May it do so.
Oh, wait.
We may have to stop forking over 60% of the FG budget to the civil service.
why not Chengdu J-10 instead of this j17 to me Chengdu J-10 is a better tested platform than the J17
Why are we not going for J10A?
It’s complicated.
Are James if at all we go for the J10, let it be the B variant, there are even stories on the net about China going into development of the C variant
Oga Beeg, you will have to minus the 2 trainer requirements for the JF-17 because there are none in production at the moment.
The story goes that the JF-17 is so easy and responsive to fly, any pilot worth his salt can fly it.
Manufacturing a jet fighter in the class of a JF-17 Thunder, somehow puts you in the league of world powers. Many NATO powers don’t manufacture jet fighters, they only import. If Nigeria misses this offer from Pakistan, then I will know for sure that we have been cursed. When Britain grounded our Jaguars, did we have any locally produced aircraft to fill in the gap?
You can parade all the imported weapons you buy in this world and claim to be strong like the Angolans, Ugandans, Algerians, Ethiopians, but when arms embargo hits you hard, then you know your true level.
I don’t want to repeat on this thread, I posted 2013 Dubai air show of JF-17 Thunder, its maneuverability is not too far behind an SU-30 Flanker, videos don’t lie except they are digitally doctored.
J-10 combat radius is 550 km while JF-17 Thunder is 1,350 km.
Check out armaments, the JF-17 is far superior including carrying hypersonic anti-ship missiles and nuclear stealth cruise missiles.
J-10 is said to be a maintenance beast with some accident history. Pakistan ordered about 36 J-10s but still wont let go of a locally manufactured jet in the JF-17. They forsee crazy America disappointing them one day if war comes, and with F-16 jets then becoming a headache, India will just uproot Pakistan because the Indians have a better army and perform better on the ground.
JF-17 is built and being further developed to counter Indian SU-30 MKI, the Pakistanis know air warfare and are said by neutral sources to have won the air war against mighty India.
The Pakis need money now and it’s our chance to ask for joint venture on JF-17 and become manufacturing branch in Africa to build and market the jet. Once the Pakis have all the project money they want for the JF-17, they wont be begging Nigeria again.
The open door of today, may become a closed door tomorrow. Be smart, Nigeria.
Words of wisdom. Hmmmmn…
Words of wisdom, but sir, i beg to disagree with you as regards the Paks winning, the air war against India
There’s no way Pakistan wins an air war with India jare. Who born monkey?
Ask the American Red Flag exercise participants. The Indians do things with SU series aircraft that even Russians have not thought about. Then they have modern aerospace programs running with less dependence on external technology.
@Oga Are James.
I actually do not give a hoot about the J10 anyway. An aircraft which has no chance of hitting a combat radius of 1,000 miles with two drop tanks carried in sync with a panoply of armaments, appears to be useless to our geopolitical reality today.
What do I mean? Our national security interests are more than at anytime before interwoven with the dynamics of our anarchical neighbourhood – from Libya and Algeria in the north, to Sudan and the CAR in the east and Mali in the west.
Time was in April 2012 when BH insurgents spearheaded the capture of Gao in NE Mali. With a J17 Thunder as the second-tier of our power projection capabilities, and the ALX Super Tucano as third tier/asymmetric warfare mainstay, such aircraft either on internal fuel or with the barest minimum of drop tanks, could have taken off from anywhere in the north of Sokoto State, struck at those airheads at Gao and returned home safely. A JF17 Thunder laps up 1,352km on internal fuel. Compare that to an unimpressive 550km for the J10 in a Nigeria sans in-flight refuelling tankers?
It is for the same reason that the imperious Su-27/30 with their 3,000-4,000 km range looks like a MUST for Nigeria at any rate. Even six units clustered at the TAC would be for us the strategic reserve when it is time to pull out all the stops. A Su-30 which can do the business in Angola and the DR Congo from Calabar; as far east as Kordofan in The Sudan and everywhere in the CAR from MDGR and YOLA; as far west as Liberia and eastern Guinea from LAGOS and anywhere in Mali from SOKOTO. We must get that strategic CORE regardless of all the sensible moves for JF17 Thunder jets. One does not nearly cancel out the other. We shall go for the JF17s but a complementary light footprint of six Su-30s remains the highest national ideal for air power as far as current realities go. Sixteen units of aging Roland ADMs does not nearly do much for a country the size of Nigeria, assuming that those are the reason why we got caught up in that disagreeable F-7 gaffe.
The NAF need to raise their aspirations two notches higher. Perpetually obsessing over what some lame airforces around us fly will no longer cut it. It is premised on a flawed threat assessment since I have shown clearly on this board that Algeria, Sudan and Angola can drop bombs on Nigerian territory even today and we have yet to fashion out a response to that reality.
We can pile on any number of the useful JF17s but the recognisable, standoff signature of the NAF must be the Su-27/30. It is the only reason why Eritrea and Uganda with little else to their airforces are rated as ToP Gun airforces in Africa and a more balanced NAF (consider the totality of surveillance, utility, ground attack, advanced trainer, transport assets) are NOT.
If threat assessments alone are the issue, why did the SAAF go for Gripen jets when Zambia fly MiG 21-2000s, Zimbabwe fly F7s, Namibia fly F7s and Botswana fly F5s? Nigeria need to stop hiding behind what Ghana and Cameroon have or do not have and give Nigerians an airforce which befits our country’s status in Africa. E be laik we nuh dey shame again sef. People, we need to stop bringing sabres to what is clearly a gunfight.
Six Su-30s and thirty JF17s should be our target between now and 2019. Come 2020, the NAF should induct six Su-35s in addition. That is all I have got to say.
I concur that a SU 30K/JF17/Super Tucano mix meets all COIN and regional dominance requirements for the NAF in the near and medium term.
The aerospace market entry opportunity that we get with the JF17 is further icing on the cake that swings things even more towards this option.
The J10 specs are better on paper when compared with JF17 but like you said, this theoretical superiority is irrelevant to our needs in any due to this aircraft’s short range and I should add excessive lifecycle cost. The Chinese will not export any other version than J10A which does not offer much to better the JF17 Block 2 and then we hear that all Rusdian engine production for J10 in the next 3 years is locked down to satisfy Chinese demand
@mayorules
Our consensus on what the NAF should be doing do is summarized as follows;
Sone SU30K and lots of Super Tucano immediately followed by acquisition of thevJF17 including participation in its global production /supply chain network next year unfailingly.
Qualified NO for now to the J10 because of high cost (up to $30million) , poor compatibilty with immediate narional objectives and low unassisted range.
*any case*
*Russian*
6 Su-30s and 30 JF-17s ? Wow ! Exactly what I ended up with on my calculations few days ago and keep repeating it to myself. I got that figure by trying to evaluate NAF firepower of 110 combat jets as at 1985 and extrapolate into 2014 equivalent.
Oga Beeg, even if I don’t know how you arrived at your own mixed bag, I am happy you spoke with a mind that God created to love his country with uncommon passion.
My agreement is with your opinion 100%.
Su-30 is more than a weapon for combat, it is a strong deterrent, a quality JF-17 unfortunately lacks in its infancy. You have Flankers well maintained, well armed, well trained pilots, even a super power thinks twice about the reason why he wants to attack you.
Ugandan Flankers are deterrent to Egypt over the river Nile dispute. Ethiopian Flankers are deterrent to Egypt on same Nile issue and then to Sudan. Eritrean Flankers are deterrent to Ethiopia. Algerian Flankers are deterrent to Morocco and Libya.
Nigerian F-7 jets are a deterrent to …… Cameroun. See how low we have fallen.
My only fear, Russia is stingy with technology, India is paying heavily for transfer of tech on Su-30MKI, Nigeria’s entire defence budget will crash if we try that here.
I wonder how India spends so much money on defense while the country languishes in poverty for 1 out of every 4 people. Well I won’t blame them, they lost a war to China. Who wants to be beaten every time?
Yes a few lines on India Vs Pakistan air wars and who has better combat pilots. I spent hours reading their war histories and watching old black and white videos of air to air combats and air raids between them. Then I had to agree with neutral private sources that said….talk to IAF it claims victory, talk PAF it claims victory, but compare the available verifiable air to air combat losses of both sides, the Pakistanis have victory by a modest margin though, not a white-wash defeat of India in the air.
The Indians might have improved today, but the Pakistanis air war history might be the reason Nigeria is sticking closer to them than the Indian air force. We
were never that close to India despite the fact that we both flew MiG-21 and Jaguar in the 70s and 80s.
The Indians are better in land warfare, and Nigerian army sticks to them like glue.
30 JF-17, I cannot let go of the Thunder jets because I don’t trust Russia that much, they can trade you for land in Crimea. I wont want Nigeria to build its air power around a jet we cannot control technically 90%. Argentina knows the pain of arms embargo, almost 100% of its air force was American/ NATO then it was fighting war with Britain, their own don finish be that.
NAF should grab 6 Su-30 with best upgrades, 30 JF-17 Thunder which will gain some respect if we use it in some conflict, we made Alpha jet a world respected light attack aircraft. Then a western new trainer maybe we have to sacrifice L-15 Falcons which we have not seen or hear NAF mention any contract or any interest, our biggest disappointment for 2013 when the deliveries went to Zambia. A western trainer jet with multirole combat capability like the L-159T2 just to make sure we don’t have a crippled air force the day we fight the likes of Sudan, China’s crude oil fountain of hydrocarbon.
Just a balance to be safe. I don’t trust any country in war, except my own.
Air defense we have neglected, Roland will shoot down most African air forces except the 10 big terrors, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Angola and South Africa.
Surprisingly, among these 10 powers only 2, Egypt and Morocco have air to surface missiles to threaten Nigeria, the rest will just be doing high altitude unguided bombing beyond Roland’s ceiling of about 5km. A Morrocan F-16 jet has Maverick air to surface stand off missile to stay 40 km away from a Roland and knock it out at a stand off distance. These 4th Gen jets, some are very wicked, like a South African Gripen jet has ability to upload photos of a weapon you are known to have, like a Roland’s image, done at the air base, then it flies to radar searche the ground 60km away, separating ground clutter from real weapons, finding anything that matches the the shape of a Roland vehicle, alerts the pilot, the Roland man is sleeping because his Roland radar detection limit is about 18km, the Gripen pilot accepts the image recognition, sends a stand off missile, the Roland man wakes up in heaven or hell asking the angels why he is in a new country without applying for visa.
Nigeria should upgrade the Roland, Saudi Arabia and Spain have not retired it last time I checked, France or Germany has upgrades available, our Roland radar and ECM is outdated.
If we hate Roland, waste the 300 missiles in a shooting practice or dismantle them for reverse engineering at the Epe rocketry experiment site and try learn some missile building secrets.
Then buy 24 launcher units AKASH from India with the usual battery group radar, command and controls that come with it, why have we not heard about this again since 2012? Deal stalled? India was to help us modernize. The 35km range AKASH is damn expensive, fact we cannot escape. Roland was a cash eater too. Good SAMs are not cheap anywhere you run to, when its cheap, it’s not guaranteed to save you.
Then buy 8 HQ-9 SAM and its radar plus command and control, because the Russian version can bankrupt somebody with price, S-300 is a cash eater.
The HQ-9 SAMs 200km range is something all super powers fear, they don’t want to attack you when you have that kind of SAM missile range. America refused to attack Yugoslavia/Serbia because of some old soviet SAM with ranges about 50km and good Serb radar plus command and control until they carried out a SEAD from outside the SAM range.
A SEAD beyond 200km is some kind of hard SEAD because cruise missiles too get shot down, the longer a cruise flies the more chance it gets shot down, Notice the USA frowns when any 3rd world country tries to buy Russian S-300 SAM with 200km range, and Algeria is the only one I know in Africa with that missile.
Then NA should go count how many Type -90 AAA we have and tell me now? Is is not my tax they used to buy it, even though not at home but have some small biz there and I pay tax. How many Type 90 have you used my tax or my oil revenue to buy, Nigerian army?
Do we have Ground based air defense systems GBAD? A GBAD air defense system with an over-arching Air Defense Command, Control, Communication, Computers & Intelligence structure to provide earlier identification of targets at longer ranges and enhanced ability to combat threats.
Do we have AHEAD munitions to stop and destroy incoming enemy missiles and guided bombs by using our Type 90 AAA? You need that to protect missile batteries from enemy air to surface missiles and multiple army formations from guided bombs. CRAM capability for destroying incoming rockets or mortar artillery, as a form of land based CIWS, I wont waste my time on CRAM, 90% of the world does not have CRAM guns, even some big names in NATO.
Point is, world war II style anti-aircraft gunnery wont save you from Angolan Su-30 jet.
My summary, 6 Su-30s, 30 JF-17s, 24 new trainers/multi-role jets western origin, upgrade Roland or use it for lab reverse engineering, 24 Akash SAM, 8 HQ-9 SAM, upgrade Type 90 with GBAD and AHEAD.
I promise you that with all these France will ask Nigeria if you want her to help you slap Cameroon for hiding Boko Haram due to Paul Biya’s cowardice, the only thing you may want to add is a dozen Nuclear bombs and missiles and USA will ask Nigeria if you want her to help you slap Britain.
Good night sirs, sleep time from my part of the globe.
Oga Augustine, thanks for your factual write up, I like the fact you were able to write something this serious with some humour too :). Hopefully someone that has the authority somewhere will see this, hopefully.
Wallahi, the part about waking up in another country without a visa got me laughing like a mad man. Excellent post boss 🙂
Gentlemen, other than to say that I concur with the brilliant ‘lead judgment’ of my learned brother Oga Beegz and adopt same, there is nothing further that I can usefully add to this matter.
True talk Oga Beegz,man pikin don tire to dey talk.
please no one should forget air defense systems SAM and L band radar system.so at least we can pull of more than what the turks did to dat syrian jet and the fact that we now know that this terrorist land helic behind our borders.
straight to the point oga BEEGZ
This is a bit clutching at straws but;
Our High commissioner to Pakistan talked about areas of co-operation to be exploited between Pakistan and Nigeria.The writer of the article mention ‘3 key areas’, agriculture, textile, and pharmaceuticals. However, a brief mention was made about the JF-17.
Quote below;
“He said the joint commission would also consider agreements on education and scientific cooperation.
He said, “Today, Pakistan is able to meet its defence requirements, it is producing armoured tanks and personnel carriers and they have just launched the GF-17 aircrafts.”
Danladi told newsmen that to demonstrate the cordial relations of both countries, the President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain, would visit Nigeria this month.
“This is first time in 30 years that a president of Pakistan is visiting Nigeria,” he said. ”
http://www.punchng.com/news/nigeria-pakistan-to-review-agreements-in-agric-others/?
By the way, i saw one of our c130s leaving lagos today.
Nothing more to be said. Also since more than a year ago, the Nigerian ambassador to Pakistan has been visiting armament and aircraft factories like a teenage girl in a shopping mall. Something’s gorabe appning.
@drag_on,as for the C130 my guess is heading to the north with supplies since it’s now preoccupied with operations from the north east and north central,my own 2cents tho.
Most likely Markudi
Glad they are being to put to good use.
http://news.yahoo.com/us-seeking-buyers-old-military-equipment-175935822.html
We should take opportunity of this.
Chief Agostinho..well done, brother.Notin do you, man.
I am glad you understand what I am trying to say ref the Su-27/30 jets. Ownership of same would affirm the class and power of the Nigerian Air Force in a way which the JF17 Thunder cannot given another decade. That, without prejudice to the many capabilities of the JF17 Thunder and the open door to the exclusive group of aircraft manufacturing nations, which it presents to Nigeria – an offer which must be grabbed in the highest national interest, just like the Navy and CSOC of China are perfecting plans for the transfer of technology on the P18N stealth OPVs. It is an offer which we must not fail to seize.
By the way, all your permutations and offering on missiles and rocketry were very interesting to read. I noted your affirmation and non-prejudiced take on the real power of the HQ-9, a near-excellent hybrid clone of existing systems.
Tanzania and Morocco have keyed into Chinese missile and rocketry offers, at once meeting the various needs for precision, range and low lifecycle costs on one ticket. While Algeria operate the BM30 Smerch, the Moroccans – less deep pocketed, operate the cheaper Chinese clone of the AR2 with the additional entailment of lower lifecycle costs. Nigeria need to get moving one way or the other. “Do Nothing” is no longer the only self-defeatist option open to us. Competing demands..yet NNPC withheld US$10bn and nobody took notice? The competing demands are possibly not as debilitating for national defence and security as we have been led to believe.
The option of upgrades on our Roland ADMs was also one which needed to be put on the table. We fare very, very badly when it comes to midlife upgrades and modernisation of existing systems and I would not know why that is.
Checklist – all six 58 metre missile ships of the NN, the Mk.9 corvette, Roland ADMs, Shilka SPAAGs, Panhard AML 90s etc. The notable exceptions are the very swift ELINT upgrade on one Alenia surveillance plane and upgrades on 18 T55 tanks and 36 Scorpion light tanks by EXPOMA and Messrs Marshpearl of Austria and Ireland respectively. The 18 units of BTR 70 APCs and 67 units of MT-LB were also upgraded before they were exported to Nigeria during the 2000s.
Beyond that, it appears as if upgrades only take place on the next planet as far as we are concerned.
We suppose wake up. E get as e be.
NAF 930 & 931 have completed software upgrades at same maintenance facility.
Nice Oga Xnur 44 Anytime I read about THE NAF upgrading and Maintaining in the same sentence it gladdens my heart, we are doing some things right. 🙂 .
Beautiful. So both surveillance airframes are NOW….
Alenia ATR 42-500 ELINT/MPA Surveyor planes.
I read one South African commentator last weekend who said that the NAF possess the most advanced surveillance capability in sub-Saharan Africa. To be sure, only Nigeria, SA and Angola possess any ELINT planes in sub-Saharan Africa.
Yeah, I forgot to add the 2011 upgrades on four A-Jet which came away with elongated nose cones – possibly indicative of a new avionics suite – and six hardpoints, as against the usual number of four hardpoints.
Care to name the journal you read that Beeg? there are very few SA defence bloggers.
http://www.airnews.co.za/News/2014_Feb/africa-in-jeopardy.html
Gentlemen, any word on one of our C-130s which went for PDM in England last year? The one that had to be escorted by RAF fighters to the maintainance airfield in Oxford because the communcations system failed during the ‘hop’ over the English Channel?
It seems must of the NAF helicopter pilots are out of the country for training,why did I say so,because the NAF AW-109 AgustaWestland helicopter is being flown by a NN Commodore,the chopper landed in the NA 72 SF BN Barracks on Tuesday.
Good things to come I presume.
I meant “Most”
No they aren’t out of the country. The Navy Routinely fly the NAF 109’s to keep current
Thank you Sir!
Oga menatti, I believe a good number of NAF helicopter pilots are currently undergoing additional trainings abroad.
The ICHOKU uav ( NAF hand-held UAV) would most likely be shown during this year’s air-expo coming up in under 2 weeks time. Do you @oga menatti have info. on the ICHOKU uav? Specifications, max ceiling, endurance et al?
This year’s air-expo promises to be bigger and better as many foreign and local suppliers are going to be participating. It would be a “crying shame” if we( beegeagle’s blog) are unable to participate.
@ Gbash Nigeria is a funny country where a Commodore does the job of a lieutenant and lieutenant commander, and they in turn perform the duties of a petty officer.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/50-killed-soldiers-battle-fulani-insurgent-nasarawa/
Why the blanket by Beegeagle on the ongoing battle by Nigerian army to reclaim North Central states from the fulani jihardists. This so called herdsmen are part of the boko haram squad, they only use the cover of herdsmen to perpetrate genocide in Nigeria. Nomadic cattle herding should be banned in the Entire Nigeria.
I earlier informed you folks out here that their main camps is in Nasarawa State, Our Gallant Army has sacked some of their camps in Nasarawa State. That governor must be dealt with, he is the one sponsoring the jihardists.
That Governor has been hell!!! The Omabatse cult was formed just to counter his “imported killer squad” which intel says he uses to oppress,kill and maim opposition minorities,they had to form this cult just to fight and defend theirselves,the FG should step in now before another terror is formed bt the question is would they??
Amazing revelations.
The FG should step in and take out all militia. There should be no patience or mercy for parochial, ethnic, atavistic conflicts in a country that should be growing its GDP at 8% per annum. Politicians causing the problems are going to have hell to pay in the very near future whether the FG can summon courage to act or not.
The governor if proven guilty should prepare for prosecution by national and international agencies when he is out of office,
WHY SUPER TUCANO IS SUPER
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20130507.aspx
i hav alwaz luv’d dat aircraft,oga beeg pls do d NAF hav a handheld UAV
Yep. We have hand held battlefield UAVs
All countries in AMISOM (including Kenya) have handhelds and are using them in Somalia. Very useful for all COIN theatres in Nigeria. On the average, 30% of them get lost in service but nobody cares. That’s how cheap and useful they are.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8527091.htm
REFURBISHED AND UPGRADED SU-30s…will Nigeria finally act her size?
http://www.ruaviation.com/news/2014/2/13/2174/
Gen. Beeg,I am just waiting to see and hear from the 2014 NAF Air Expo,less I forget, some unexploded NAF high calibre bombs dug out of the ground in Sambisa Forest!Old MiG or Jaguar bombs I presume,bad fuse.
Me too, Sir Gbash.
Please, what is holding us back from actually putting the requisite numbers of some badly needed airframes on the ground in the Northeast?
Hungary just acquired three factory-refurbished Mi-17s from Russia for a token US$9 million! Na wa for we o.
Russia will be declaring about 200 Mi-24s surplus to requirement by 2015 since they now want to focus on Mi-35M and Mi-28 attack helicopters only. Another boon to be cashed in on if Nigeria do right.
Meanwhile, Algeria which already operate 65 Mi-24s and 90 Mi-8/Mi-17 have just signed a contract for 42 Mi-28 attack helos and 6 Mi-26s.
Hmmm…3 factory refurbished Mi-24 Hind for just US $9 million,because these are old choppers,the FG should atleast acquired 6 units for US $18 million.Now for capability modernization ,force enhancement and rapid battlefield mobility,Nigeria needs the following choppers:
* 36 units of dedicated attack helicopters( brand-new Mi-28NE/UB Havoc);
* 18 units of Mi-35M Hind E;
* 24 units of Mi-171 Terminators medium-lift ; and
* 8 units of Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopters.
These choppers can be inducted into service before the end of 2015 to 2018.
This is just a conservative list for helicopters,the number can be more than what is stated.
Air force 2014 air exp0 has been postponed.
http://www.nigeriaairexpo.net/
Good idea.
We can’t afford to release pilots and ground crew for a useless expo. Save the money to buy and maintain jets instead.
http://www.punchng.com/news/fg-okays-new-fighter-jets-for-air-force/
It reads like they have not started taken delivery of all of the new jets yet but a few of them and some refurbished platforms have been put into service and maybe they have also found money to finish the MB339 upgrade and L 39ZA refurbishment.
*taken delivery*
All I can say is FINALLY. The acquisition of the Tucanos is loooooooong overdue as our security forces need all the platforms they can get in the current war against BH terrorists. Well done Beegeagle.
When everything is said and done maybe we get together to nominate @Beegeagle for an MON or MFR.