Nigeria Received Primary Flying Training Aircrafts Not Fighter Jets

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Contrary to the news making the rounds in the media that the Nigerian Air Force has received five Super Mushsak fighter planes from Pakistan to enhance its air power capability, and that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar and members of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on NAF inspected the war planes on Friday July 14, in Kaduna, P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that the aircrafts received were not fighter jets but primary flying trainer aircrafts.

A fighter airplane by definition is an airplane that can be used as a weapon of war.

This means any airborne vehicle that drops bombs, rockets and shoot mounted guns from that platform.

This definition is generic and can be defended if you call 737-500 Boeing a fighter airplane.

This correction became necessary because recently NAF like many other respected institutions of late appeared to have pushed all its tactical plans for the purpose of aggrandizement into the social media and even acting as an appendage of TV networks, and issues are not properly presented to the general public.

The acquisition of primary trainers from Pakistan by NAF should not and can never be classified as acquiring fighter airplanes.

This is wrong and extremely misleading.

Our investigation showed that the NAF front line fighter airplanes were the Alpha jets (that came into operation since 1984), the Chengdu F-7 fighters from the Chinese just 10 years now.

Other fighter airplanes included the L- 39 jets for basic flying training in Kano.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation and research from several professional sources internationally and locally revealed that the so called fighter airplanes from Pakistan were primary trainers to replace the Air beetles that were problematic for initial pilot training.

It is therefore a disservice to Nigerian taxpayers to be deceived into believing that NAF inducted new fighter planes to help fight Boko Haram which is not true and rather misleading.

P.M.EXPRESS posits that this correction and clarification is needed to situate things properly and avoid misleading the Nigerian public into believing we do have what we do not.