Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has commissioned five new Super Mushak trainer aircraft as part of efforts to tackle terrorism.
They were recently acquired from Pakistan by the Nigerian Air Force for the training of personnel and counter insurgency operations.
At the inauguration ceremony and graduation of 16 pilots held at the Airforce base in Kaduna State, Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said it was important for the country to explore all options in order to tackle terrorism.
This, he said, includes taking advantage of the technological breakthrough in various sectors.
The Super Mushak plane, historically used as a training aircraft, has been integrated with a new glass cockpit and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities by fitting the aircraft with electro-optic/infrared sensor turrets and an L3 Webcam MX-10 surveillance device.
The aircraft has a service ceiling of 22,000 feet, and a maximum speed of 268km/h.
They were brought to Nigeria from Pakistan on July 14, 2017, and were test flown to ensure that their performance meets the desired specifications.
The Air Force authorities disclosed that additional five of such aircraft will arrive Nigeria before the end of the year.
Training with the aircraft is expected to commence immediately.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, said that training and equipment were the best ways the Nigerian military would win the war against insurgency and other related crimes across the country.
About 16 cadets of the Nigerian Defence Academy graduated from the Airforce Flying Training School as pilots.
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