Nigeria takes delivery of 2 new helicopter gunships from Russia

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said its men took delivery of two Mi-35M helicopter gunships that the federal government ordered from Russia.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Air Force Spokesperson, Olatokunbo Adesanya.
It said the Antonov aircraft, which brought the new Mi-35M helicopters, touched down on the runway at NAF Base Makurdi at exactly12.20 p.m.
The Chief of Aircraft Engineering at NAF Headquarters, Abdulganiyu Olabisi, received the new aircraft on behalf of the Chief of the Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar.
The statement added that the combined team of NAF personnel and Russian technicians were also on hand to assist in offloading the partially assembled new helicopters, some parts of which came in crates.
Also, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service were present to ensure necessary documentation.
The statement further said that the newly delivered helicopters, which are capable of night fighting, are all brand new and are the most sophisticated in the Mi-series of helicopter gunships.
The newly received combat helicopters form the second batch of the fleet of Mi-35M helicopters initiated by the Buhari administration in 2015.
“At the inception of the current NAF leadership in 2015, it was realized that modern Mi-helicopter gunships with night-fighting capability needed to be procured towards enhancing the operational capability of the NAF.
“Consequently, the delivery of the helicopter gunships would go a long way in adding impetus to the current efforts at combating the security challenges in Benue State and other parts of the North Central Region as well as other forms of criminality facing the country.
“ In addition, with the delivery of the additional Mi-35M helicopters, the on-going counterinsurgency operation in the North-East has just received a boost.”