Nigerian Air Force Gives Cost Of Involvement In Lafiya Dole Operation.

The Nigerian Air Force says it has spent a total of 2.738 billion Naira in 2016 to ensure a functional air component of the Operation Lafiya Dole, in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.

 

This was made known during a briefing of Ministers of Information, Defence and members of the Bring Back Our Girls Group, (BBOG), Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, Commanding Officer by Air Vice Marshal Nurudeen Balogun and the Tactical Commander, Air Commodore Charles Ohwo.

 

Addressing the Members of the BBOG, the Commanding Officer Air Vice Marshal Balogun, informed the group that efforts were being made to locate not only the missing Chibok school girls but also any person abducted by the Boko Haram sect.

 

According to him, the abducted were cited on January 7 and 12, 2017 and those abductees who were rescued, have been handed over to the ground troops in Maiduguri.

 

Source: Channels TV

Nigeria turns to Pakistan, China for war planes, helicopters, others

Concerned about global politics surrounding procurement of sophisticated arms from western countries, Nigerian Air Force is expecting arrival of war-planes and helicopters from Pakistan and Russia to boost its fleets.

The Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, made the disclosure at a breakfast briefing with editors of online media in Abuja at the weekend.

Mr. Abubakar said: “I want to say that we have been enjoying support from other countries. (Sometimes arm procurement) is shrouded in a lot of politics. Unfortunately, I’m not a politician, so I cannot be able to say much on that. But what I can tell you is that right now as I speak to you, we are expecting the Pakistani Chief of Air Staff in Nigeria soon. Pakistan has accepted to sell ten trainer airplanes. And that is why the Pakistan Chief of Air Staff is coming for the induction ceremony which is going to take place in Kaduna.

“We are really getting support from many countries. Similarly, we have trained so many people in Pakistan, China. In the US, we have pilots that are training right now. We have other pilots that have just finished training from the United Kingdom. We have additional pilots that are training in South Africa. We have more pilots that are training in the Egyptian Air Force and so many other places including Russia…We are really getting support”, he said.

On the competence of Nigerian fighter pilots, Mr. Abubakar said “In the last 18 months, we have flown almost 3000 hours with no incident. In terms of competence I can tell you that the Nigerian Air Force pilots are amongst the most competent. Because the training curriculum is very clear. And that is why now in the Air Force you look at the wings, pilots wear wings. We have categorized the wings according to their skill levels. We also organize simulation training for our pilots, we organize evaluation visits where pilots are evaluated without any notice. We have also sent over 700 personnel of the NAF to different parts of the world to train and acquire the skills required for them to be effective.

Mr. Abubakar said the air force is currently assisting the Nigerian Army and Navy in the North and South in countering criminal activities of terrorists and militants through operational strategy, air interdictions strategy and soft-core strategy. He explained that the main objective is to create an enabling environment for the ground and surface forces, to be able to operate with little or no hindrance.

He continued: “Another sub-strategy under this is the reactivation of airplanes. We have embarked on the reactivation of airplanes and today as I speak to you we are on the thirteenth aircraft. What I mean by reactivation is that aircrafts that were not in involved in any fight before the coming of the present federal government; they were parked before but are today part of the fight.

“The thirteenth aircraft as I speak to you is being worked upon in Yola and we are hoping that before the end of this month that airplane will be flying. When you train, you must reactivate the platform to be used in flying.”

The Air Force boss also claimed there was no helicopter crash in Makurdi. Explaining the incident involving Agusta AW 101 helicopter handed over to NAF by President Muhammadu Buhari, he said: “What happened in Makurdi was not a crash. Immediately we received the aircraft from the Presidency, we took one of them to Kaduna to paint it into desert camouflage. They removed the seal of the President and painted it into a combat machine.

“When they finished the painting, they were supposed to go to Maiduguri but they needed to go to Makurdi to pick certain things before proceeding to Maiduguri. So the aircraft took off from Kaduna, landed perfectly in Makurdi. They were just taxiing to go and park when the incident happened. I don’t want to pre-empt whatever investigation that is going on.

“Those same pilots were the ones that picked the 21 Chibok girls that were moved out in the night and brought them back to Maiduguri and from Maiduguri to Abuja. So accidents happen and we are investigating to find out why it happened and we will make it public when we get the picture of what really happened.”

The Air Marshall also disclosed that the welfare of officers in the Air Force have been improved upon through provisions of accommodation, agricultural programs, housing schemes and other welfare packages. He added that people in host communities are also beneficiaries of its services through the provisions of health facilities, water boreholes, schools and skill acquisitions centres.

How Presidential aircraft handed over to us crashed – Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force on Friday has said a presidential aircraft handed over to it by the presidency crashed following a ‘mishap while taxing’ in Makurdi, Benue State.

 

In a statement, Air Force spokesperson, Ayodele Famuyiwa said a panel has been inaugurated to investigate the incident.

 

“The attention of the Nigerian air force (NAF)has been drawn to media report on the crash of one of the Agusta Westland 101 helicopters handed over recently by the presidency,” he said.

 

“Contrary to the crash report, it is pertinent to state that the mishap occurred while the helicopter was taxing after a successful mission. The incident happened last week on the tarmac at 33 Logistics Group, Makurdi.

 

“The NAF has since set-up a board of officers to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the incident. The seven-man board is headed by Air-Vice Marshal Emmanuel Anebi. Details of the investigation would be communicated to the public as soon as the board concludes its assignment.”

JUST IN: Presidential aircraft handed over to Air Force crashes

One of the Presidential aircraft handed over to the Nigerian Air Force, the Agusta AW 101 has crashed at the Nigerian Air Force base in Makurdi, Daily Post reports.

 

The helicopter which was reconfigured for military operations reportedly crashed due to poor handling by the crew.

 

It was also gathered that no life was lost in the crash.

NAF explores agriculture to empower barracks youths

Nigerian military is not left out in the nation’s search for a solution to the economic recession the oil-rich nation slid into few weeks ago, as the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is exploring agriculture to empower youths in barracks.

He is confident that further involvement of youths in agriculture will deepen the economic diversification drive of the government.

Nigeria is battling to get out of its present economic recession made obvious when the National Bureau of Statistics released a second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report.

The report showed a contract in the GDP by 2.06% in the second quarter of 2016.

According to the report, the decline has caused the Naira to get weaker while lower oil prices dragged the oil sector down.

The output shrunk by 0.36 in the first quarter.

During the quarter, nominal GDP was 2.73% higher at 23.48 million Naira at basic prices.

This growth was lower than the rate recorded in the second quarter of 2015 by 2.44% points.

While launching a scheme tagged ‘Barracks Youth Empowerment Through Agriculture (BYETA)’ held at the Air Force Base in Kaduna State, Air Marshal Abubakar said the initiative would empower youths and create jobs.

The Air Chief was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Air Force headquarters, Air Vice Marshal James Gbum.

He explained that the inauguration of the youth empowerment programme was a testimony and determination of the Nigerian Air Force to key into the Federal Government’s policy on diversification of the economy to other non-oil sectors especially agriculture.

The programme, according to the organisers, is designed to engage the youths, particularly those living in the barracks in productive ventures such as poultry, fishery and crops farming that would enable them live meaningful lives independent of their parents or guidance.

While urging the youth to make good use of the opportunity to empower themselves and contribute to the economic development of the nation, the representative of the Chief of Air Staff, enjoined parents and guidance to regularly monitor the progress of their wards in order to achieve the maximum success rate of the programme.

On his part, the Commander, 335 Base Service Group, Air Commodore Bello Garba, said the initiative was launched to further drive home the message of self-reliance and the directive given by the Chief of Air Staff for all secondary schools in the barracks to establish a demonstration farm which he also noted would prepare the youth to be self-reliant.

He told the gathering that in compliance with the directive, the 335 Base Service Group had established a BYETA association with an initial membership of 25 youths at its inception on August 30.

At the moment it has 98 registered members, including 35 engaged in fish farming, 25 in poultry, 26 in livestock and 12 in crop farming.

Some of the beneficiaries said they were pleased with the initiative they believe would empower them, help them feed Nigerians and ensure food security.

The Barrack Youth Empowerment Through Agriculture Programme is open to relatives of Air Force personnel and residents of host communities.

We Spend N475m Monthly Fuelling Jets Combating Boko Haram- Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) spends N475 million monthly to fuel its fighter jets and transport planes to fight Boko Haram.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said in Lagos yesterday that the force uses 1.9 million litres of aviation fuel monthly to fly missions in the North-East, the hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency. Aviation fuel sells for N250 per litres, meaning that at least, N475 million is spent on a monthly basis.
He spoke during the opening of the 2016 Logistics seminar organsed by the NAF’s Logistics Command.
Giving other breakdown, he said: “So we are talking of about 10, 000 litres just for one aircraft time. We have so many other airplanes like the Alpha jets which consume 2, 400 litres per hour. They also fly in formation and that means about 4, 800 litres a day. There are other planes that fly on a daily basis.”
Air Marshal Abubakar said to ensure  the force build capacity in logistics planning, the hierarchy of the NAF has embarked on training and retraining of its personnel within and outside Nigeria, especially as logistics play a very vital role in the success or failure of military operations.
He said the NAF has consistently sought ways of standardising her logistics procedures and operations in line with current global best practices.
While explaining that the Air Force must put together a carefully planned strategy not only for the movement of equipment and personnel to the theatre of war, the NAF chief said this was important if the current security challenges  must be properly addressed.
He said: “It is only when we get the strategy right that we can hope to effectively and efficiently deploy air power necessary for addressing the challenges facing Nigeria. To support air operations in the North-East, the NAF must put an excellent plan that will ensure availability of aviation fuel in the operational area.

Read More:

http://sunnewsonline.com/boko-haram-we-spend-n475m-monthly-to-fuel-jets-air-force/

Why We Deployed Air Force To Dislodge Arepo Vandals- Military

The military has defended its decision to dislodge vandals and militants operation at Arepo with Air Force strikes, saying it was due to the inaccessibility of the swampy hideouts of the criminals.

It said the joint operation involving the Army, Police, State Security Service (SSS) and Civil Defence engaged the Air Force to capture wider latitude of the vandals’ shanties and nab suspected operatives.

The military swung into action last Thursday following a directive of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to smoke out criminals operating in the entirety of Arepo and its extensions to parts of Lagos.

The Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai, addressing the media, said the obnoxious development of kidnapping, robbery attacks and vandalism, which has overtime saturated the area, prompted military strikes.

 He said the force was yet to put a figure to the number of casualties recorded in its first strike action as it was yet to wholly penetrate the creeks.

According to him, the military was fully braced up with well-wrought strategies to demolish their base.

He said: “We have commenced an ongoing operation around Arepo.

“We are all very familiar with the ugly situation that have been developing around Arepo, ranging from pipeline vandalism to kidnapping, armed robbery, and so on.

“Just last month, we got directive from the Chief of Defence Staff that we should carry out an operation to the general area of Arepo, with a view to dismantling vandals’ shanties scattered around Arepo, Ibafo, Ishawo.

“Initially, we were directed not to use air power, but when we carried out assessment of the operation area, a lot of them had moved from areas accessible by water and land to areas that are very swampy, into the mangroves of the area.

“We had to get back to the CDS that the best way we can take out these targets is by the use of air power, and the CDS granted us permission to do a general re-assessment and employ attack helicopters to take out those targets.

“We had to use air power because of the nature of the terrain.”

He explained that an assessment of the target area revealed that oil bunkering operation was ongoing at full fledge.

The military vowed to bring to book the sponsors of the act and thwart the extant market they supply.

“Yesterday, we initiated the operation and we were able to knock off some targets, then a surveillance aircraft went up to do the after battle surveillance for us.

“We were able to interpret the video clip, and we could see that after the first attack, they came out from where they were hiding with guns.

We could see one of their canoes which they mounted a GPMG on it. The interpretation is that all that is happening there is deliberate and well planned since they could arm themselves to that magnitude.

“It is our wish that at the end of this operation, we would find a means to go into the place to comb that general area.

“We anticipated that some of them will run away and the only two ways they could leave that place is either by land or water.

“The land component: the army, the police, Civil defence have identified some get-away routes.

“The get-away routes by water, the naval forces have blocked them. We have also employed the SSS.

“On the other hand, we have blocked escape routes towards Ogun State.

“The essence of having blockages on land is that when they are running out, we would be able to grab them, profile them, investigate them and trace their sponsors.

“Being in business means that they have a market. We want to identify that market. We are going to sustain this operation and see where it would take us.

Bobai noted that the two states involved, Lagos and Ogun states, have been adequately informed of the operation, adding that residents had no cause to panic.

“We are in touch with Ogun and Lagos state governments because the general operation area lies between the states,” he said.

Credit: Nation

Air Force Strikes Boko Haram Location

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said its F-7NI fighter jets on Operation ‘Gama Aiki,’ conducted air strikes on Boko Haram locations in the northern part of Borno State.
A statement from Air Force spokesman, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, said two F-7NI fighter aircraft struck locations between Tumbum Rego and Malkonory, about 25km from Kangarwa.

He said the latest strike was part of the air operations conducted by the Air Force  in support of the efforts by surface forces and the Multi National Joint Task Force to rid the area of the remnants Boko Haram militants.

Credit: DailyTrust

EFCC Arraigns Senior Air Force Officer For Allegedly Receiving N40 Million, Landrover Bribe

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned, AVM Rufus Ojuawo, in an FCT High Court, Apo, for collecting N40 million gift and a Range Rover sports car from Hima Abubakar.

Mr. Ojuawo, a former Director of Operations, Nigerian Air Force, was arraigned before Justice Mahawiya Idris on a two-count charge.

The charge says Mr. Ojuawo while in office in March, 2015, accepted a gift in the aggregate sum of N40 million from Abubakar of Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux Nig. Ltd.

It stated that the defendant also received a Range Rover Sports Supercharged car valued at N29, 250, 000 from Mr. Abubakar, who was a contractor with the Nigerian Airforce through Coscharis Motors Ltd.

The offence contravenes Section 17(a) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 17(c) of the same Act.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

EFCC counsel Francis Jirbo applied for a date to open his case, and urged the court to remand Mr. Ojuawo in prison custody.

But Defence counsel, Ralph Ojabo, opposed the application, saying that he had an application for bail dated June 3 pending in the court.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Boko Haram: Air Force To Kit Unmanned Vehicles With Weapon Systems

As the Military pushes into the Sambisa Forest enclave of Boko Haram terrorists’, the Nigerian Air Force said on Tuesday that it has intensified efforts to get its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) fitted with missile guided weapon systems for combat roles.

The Chief of Army Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar made this known on Tuesday at a meeting with the management of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

According to Abubakar, the Air Force will be leveraging on an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NASRDA to fasts track collaborative measures to improve the air force rocketry and missile propulsion systems.

Credit: vanguardngr

EFCC Seizes N860m Mansion From Ex-Air Force Chief

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has sealed off a mansion allegedly belonging to a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar (retd).

Reports provides that the house located on 1853 Deng Xiano Ping Street, off Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro Extension, Abuja, had stickers bearing the EFCC logo pasted on the gate.

According to the EFCC, the house is worth about N860m.

The EFCC had alleged before an Abuja Federal High Court that, “while being the Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force, between March and April 2012, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the court did the accused (Umar) use the United States dollars equivalent of the sum of N860,000,000 (Eight hundred and sixty million naira) removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force to purchase for yourself a property lying and situate at plot 1853 Deng Xiano Ping Street, off Mahathir Mohammed street, Asokoro extension Abuja.”

The anti-graft agency had also alleged that Umar removed another N700m from the accounts of the NAF to purchase a property at 14, Vistula Close, off Panama Street, Maitama, Abuja, while N500m was removed from the accounts of the NAF to purchase a property comprising a four-bedroomed duplex at Road 3B, Street 2, Mabushi Ministers Hill, Abuja.

Credit: Punch

Air Force Acquires More Aircrafts, Promises Better Welfare

The Nigerian Air Force says it has recorded 100% increase of serviceable aircraft to address the current national security threat in Nigeria.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said this during the commissioning ceremony of staff accommodation in Kano’s Air Force base.

He said that Government is determined to reposition the Nigerian Air Force into a highly professional service through capacity building.

Accompanied by top ranking officers, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar said that the Nigerian Air Force must continue to remain vibrant towards the nation’s air defence.

He added that in order to achieve that, officers and men of the service also need to have a robust welfare package that will make them comfortable in confronting any kind of security threat.

Officers and men of the service had lacked adequate accommodation for mostly their family, a problem Sadique said is capable of dividing their attention in executing their duties.

To him, accommodation, healthcare facilities, capacity building among others should come first in any security institution across the country.

Meanwhile, the Air Chief has said that accommodation package for the personnel would continue across all Air Force bases across the country.

He added that with better welfare and equipment, there would be no hiding place for criminals.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Air Force Establishes Cordinating Centers In Yola

The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday tested its new tactical operations and defense coordinating centers at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.

Commissioning the project on Sunday, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, said that the centers would provide an enabling environment for the Air Force to accomplish its mission in the fight against insurgency in the northeast.

The various projects constructed by the Nigerian Air Force are; a flight line house, two blocks for 12 logistics wings flight line access road, a tactical operations center and an ammunition dump.

Others are a base defense coordinating center, residential quarters for air men and air women, worship centers for Christians and Muslims and a single officers quarters.

In his address of welcome, officer in charge of the Operation Lafiya Dole, Air Commodore Uzezi, said the base was the engine room of the air effort in support of counter insurgency in the north east.

Also at the event was the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, who was received by the Air Chief at the flight line in the Air Force Base.

After his arrival, General Olonisakin inspected a guard of honor mounted by the troops the 75 Strike Group in Yola.

In his speech, Air Marshall Abubakar told the gathering that his vision was to reposition the Nigerian Air Force into a highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient and timely employment of air power in response to Nigeria’s national security imperative.

He said that the need to reposition the 75 Strike Group in Yola was more evident, considering the role it plays as the Air Component Headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole.

Keys were presented to some beneficiaries of the official quarters by Governor Bindo Jibrilla of Adamawa State.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Possible Locations Of Chibok Girls Identified– Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force says it has been able to identify possible locations of the abducted Chibok girls.

The Director of Public Relations at the Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, said that the Air Force is abstaining from attacking the area to make sure that the girls are not hit.

He explained that the latest aerial bombardment of Sambisa forest had been aimed at the logistics base of the Boko Haram sect and not areas where the Chibok girls could be located.

“We have no fears that the girls are not there because hat particular location has been under surveillance for quite a while and we suspected maybe its a kind of ammunition depot or maybe a workshop that they are using as their logistics place.

“Once you take off the logistics base, of course you gradually weaken the resolve of the enemy to be able to prosecute any campaign,” he said.

Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa also explained some of the tactics used by the Air Force to locate the girls.

He said, ” The UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) has become a force multiplier for us because its cheaper to run these platforms, you are not putting men there (and) the risk of  losing human beings is greatly reduced.

“Again the UAVs have the capability to be airborne for up to eleven hours and its quite cheap to maintain. So, we have been able to employ the UAV to a great extent to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance basically for intelligence gathering on the activities of the Boko Haram.”

He said that the UAVs have also helped the Air Force to understand the terrorists’ pattern of movement and “how to be able to counter them should they want to strike or spring any surprise”.

Credit: ChannelsTV

Insurgency: Air Force Seeks Cordial Civil-Military Relations

The Nigerian Air Force has established a Directorate of Civil-Military Relations to earn and sustain the support of the civil populace for its operations and activities.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Friday, the Director of Civil-Military Relations of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Afam Chukwu, said the security challenges faced by the nation, especially in the northeast, required a holistic approach by all Nigerians for the military to achieve sustainable success.

He also announced the establishment of a Public Information/Complaints Desk in the directorate in order to smoothen outstanding rough edges and enhance the mutual benefits between the military and the civil populace.

Counter-terrorism operations have continued in the northeast region of Nigeria, with the Air Force providing surveillance support to ground troops.

On February 2, the Nigerian Air Force’s Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UAV) destroyed a logistics base used by members of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The UAV destroyed the base of the insurgents in Borno, one of the states the terrorist group has attacked in its over six years insurgency.

According to the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, the UAV was on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission when it came across the gathering of Boko Haram terrorists at Garin Moloma, about one kilometer north of the Sambisa forest.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Air Force Strikes Terrorists’ Vehicle Workshops, Fuel, Ammunition Dumps In Sambisa

The Nigerian Air Force says its alpha jets have successfully carried out air strikes and destroyed the Boko Haram’s vehicle workshops, fuel and ammunition dumps all within the Sambisa forest.

According to the Director, Air Force Public Relations and Information, Commodore Dele Alonge, this is part of a renewed drive to further degrade the Boko Haram terrorists’ assets.

He said that the effort was as a result of a painstaking Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and ATR-42 platforms.

According to him, the air strikes on the insurgents would pave the way for the final onslaught by the land forces to meet President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to bring insurgency in the north-east to an end by December.

Credit: ChannelsTV

Nigerian Air Force Redeploys Senior Officers

The Nigerian Air Force has released the redeployment and appointments of some senior officers, a statement by air force spokesperson, Dele Alonge, said.

Mr. Alonge said the officers deployed to new duty posts are four branch chiefs, three air officers commanding and two commandants.

According to him, the four branch chiefs at the air force headquarters are Air Vice Marshal A.A. Iya, formally the Chairman Air Exposition and International Liaison Secretariat, now appointed Chief of Training and Operations; AVM A.M. Mamu the former Air Officer Commanding, Training Command Kaduna, now takes charge as the Chief of Administration.

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Seven Die As Nigerian Air Force Aircraft Crashes

Seven people have been killed after an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed at the old site of the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna , Northwest Nigeria.

The casualties include all four crew members and three passengers. The victims were travelling from the Nigerian Air Force Base in Kaduna en route Abuja.

Emergency officials say the helicopter crashed less than ten minutes after taking off.

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Air Force Unveils Unmanned Bomb Detector, Light Surveillance Aircraft

The development is part of the force’s contribution to the fight against insurgency in the troubled north-eastern region.

Commandant of the AFIT, Air Vice Marshal Toni Adokwe, introduced the device at a gathering ahead of the institute’s 44th Convocation Ceremony coming up on Friday.

The Commandant demonstrated how the device could dictate and pick up Impoverished Explosive Device to safer locations for disposal.

The device has a frequency jammer to distort GSM signals and also has a time run of four hours.

He said it was produced by students of the Armament Engineering Department in 2012 and was later modified to a higher level called Unmanned Ground Vehicle type two.

Adokwe affirmed that with effective innovative approach to technology, Nigeria would be able to tackle the current security challenge in the North-east.

He emphasised that the growing wave of bombings by the Boko Haram sect required more researches and innovations of modern equipment and technologies to tackle the challenge.

The Commandant further explained that the institute had equally commenced research into the development of a Light Surveillance Aircraft that would be in conformity with the climatic temperature of Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

Read More: http://www.channelstv.com/2015/07/28/air-force-modifies-unmanned-bomb-detector/

Syrian Army Airstrikes Kill At Least 24

No fewer than 24 people, mostly civilians, were killed on Wednesday in airstrikes by Syrian army helicopters against two rebel-held areas in the north of the war-torn country, a monitoring group reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 16 people, including eight children, were killed when government helicopters dropped explosives-packed barrels on Tel Rifaat on the northern edge of Aleppo province.

The watchdog said the helicopters also killed eight civilians, including five from one family, with barrel bombs in the village of Latamneh on the northern fringe of Hama province.

The Syrian government has in recent years stepped up aerial attacks using barrel bombs against the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

The latest surge in the government’s air raids came after Bashar al-Assad’s overstretched troops suffered a series of setbacks by rebels, mainly jihadists.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly condemned the use of barrel bombs, saying they are indiscriminate in their targeting, cause many civilian casualties and that their use constitutes a war crime.

According to activists, no fewer than 220,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Syria’s conflict since it started in March 2011. (dpa/NAN)