The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has acquired two additionalRussian-madeMi- 35M helicopter gunships. Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, who made the disclosure in a statement yesterday, said “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”. According to Adesanya:”The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) today, 30 April 2018, took delivery of two Mi-35M helicopter gunships that the Federal Government had since ordered from Russia.
“The Antonov aircraft, which brought the new Mi- 35M helicopters, touched down on the runway at NAF Base Makurdi at exactly 12.20pm today (yesterday). “A 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. In addition, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service were present to ensure necessary documentation.”
He noted that the latest acquisition was the second of the series of Mi-35M helicopters. His words: “The newly received combat helicopters form the second batch of the fleet of Mi-35M helicopters, the procurement of which the current Federal Government Administration initiated in Year 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.