Those having fits over Nigeria's re-armament are in for a rough ride as the NAF prepares to take delivery of the first Squadron (twelve) of M-346FA in December.
Twenty four M-346FA's will replace the iconic Alpha Jets fleet of 16 aircafts. Aquired in the mid- 80s they are the oldest serving aircafts in the NAF inventory. 1990
The Alpha jets were deployed to Liberia during ECOMOG peacekeeping operations where they sunk ships running guns for Chalrlse Taylor in the Seaport of Buchanan and hammered rebel gun emplacements at Charles Taylor’s headquarters in Kakata, forcing him to move his base.
"The firepower of NAF fighter aircraft has finally dealt an incalculable blow to the war effort of the NPFL leader"
- TIME Magazine.
Charles Taylor wasnt done. In October 1992 Taylor launched a massive assault on Monrovia. A year and half after the last ECOMOG forces left.
A detachment of six NAF Alpha Jets flew over a thousand missions in response, employing Beluga cluster bombs a 628 pound munition that disperses 152 small bomblets by parachute. The NAF’s search and destroy mission were so effective that the NPFL began attacking at night lol
The Alpha Jet was not built for night attack missions, but the NAF, banking on the experience of its pilots did the unthinkable. They began flying attack missions from bases in Kainji at NIGHT !!
Helpless against Nigerian air power, NPLA forces began using civilians as human shields to deter the Alpha jets. Unable to hit NPLA positions due to civilians, Alpha jets began hitting NPLF supply convoys and naval vessels, sinking six of the group's cargo ships.
In 1995 fighting erupted in Sierra-Leone as various warlords fought over the country's mine fields. There were cases of rape, cannibalism, mutilation and murders.
The NAF deployed a pair of Alpha jets to support the ECOMOG Task Force that was deployed.
Alpha jets are heavily armed with rockets, cannons and they were put to good use. NAF Alpha jets
pounded RUF positions with bombs and rockets until they began to flee straight into ambush parties lying in wait.
The airstrikes succeeded in driving the RUF from the country and led to the Abidjan peace accords in 1996.
That accorded lasted barely a year before fighting erupted once again for control of the country's rich uranuim mine fields.
NAF Alpha jets flying from bases in Nigeria dropped cluster bombs on rebel positions in Kenema and the capital Freetown. That was enough to subdue the rebels.
In 1999 the RUF changed its name to the West Side Boys and overran the capital Freetown, killing 6,000 people.
There was also reports of mass amputations. About 3,000 civilians were amputed. The RUF commander openly dared ECOMOG to intervene. Irritated by the constant fighting Nigeria unilaterally launched an invasion of Sierra-Leone with thousands of troops and amoured vehicles.
The 3,000 Nigerian troops supported by Alpha Jets launched a bloody counterassault that drove the rebels out of the capital Freetown. During the invasion 10 aircrafts sustained heavy damage from anti-aircraft fire and one Alpha jets was shot down. Athough the crew survived.
Alpha jets did not see much action against Niger Delta insurgent. Helicopter gunships were the aircraft of choice, where they operated from the 115 Special Operations Group (115 SOG) Port Harcourt.
The NAF was actually planning to retire the Alpha jets when the Boko Haram insurgency began. Thirteen Alpha jets were taken out of near retirement and refurbished for combat operations, where they deployed alongside F-7Ni fighters to provide ground support for troops.
No other nation in the world has made combat use of the Alpha jets as the Nigeria. It is the most iconic aircaft in the Nigerian Air Force. But its time has come to an end. The JF-17 fighter, Super Tucano and M-346 FA represents the new era of Nigerian Air Power.
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France is closing 2023 with a diminished presence in the restive Sahel region and Al-Qaeda is livid with rage against the putchist in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, going as far as calling them trecherous.
The leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb recently released a 22 minutes tape where he branded the new military rulers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali "treacherous"and called on the citizens of these countries to turn on their leaders.
Why is AQIM upset about the French exit
from the Sahel and lashing out at the junters? It's bad for business.
The supply of money and weapons has come under threat. They've been raking in millions thanks to the geopolitical aspirations of a former colonial power determined to maintain a strategic foothold in Africa.
Nigeria gave France 48 hours to close down its Embassy in Lagos and to pack out of the country in retaliation against France exploding three nuclear devices in the Sahara despite vehement protests by Nigeria and other newly independent
African countries. Nigeria also banned French ships and aeroplanes from calling at her ports. The French Embassy in Lagos remained shut until October 1965. This unprecedented demonstration of power and resolve by an African country was a source of worry for France.
The French were worried that the size and potential strength of Nigeria might lead to a re-orientation of French West African countries away from France and towards Nigeria. Paris was preoccupied with the re-establishment and preservation of French imperial power which had been
For the NAF to transform it's self from a tactical, defensive force within Nigeria to one capable of strategic missions beyond territorial borders we need to up our numbers game.
The NAF already has the quality based on current and projected platforms.
A decade+ long insurgency, that necessitated on-going reforms changed the NAF's equipment priorities, from modernizing high tech hardware to platforms optimized for COIN and network-centric warfare.
The air force has progressed considerably towards building
and fielding a formidable force, and has assumed responsibilities that accompany the projection of national power in the sub region.
Only problem is the limited number of air superiority fighters. The smallest number of fighters in decades.
Still feeling under the weather 🤕. It gets worse as evening approaches.
However, after going through the comment section I've decided it's time to make the case for an ECOWAS intervention in Niger before analysing the capabilities of the potential belligerent of this crises.
ECOWAS weak response to recent coup 'd'etats paved the way for what is now a belt of dictatorships that stretches all the way from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and now Niger. They plotters gained the perception that ECOWAS is weak and could be challenged.
Failure of the regional bloc to respond militarily gave them the perception that they can push ECOWAS further without ramifications.
The latest coup in Niger has fundamentally changed the region. A new cold war between democratic states and military junta's...
In 1983 Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari, GOC of the 3rd Division in Jos flushed out Chadian forces that invaded Nigerian communities in dramatic fashion. 40 years later he presides over what is arguably the biggest military build-up in Nigeria's history.
The President realised the nation was in need of an overhaul of the military. Nigeria had been humiliated in the early stages of the insurgency and the terrorists seemed secure in their unrelenting mission of conquest. Boko Haram captured and occupied 22 LGA's in the northeast.
The Nigerian military was plagued by low morale, low pay, outdated equipment, and zero maintenance on what did exist. Soldiers were tired. It just wasn't worth it to them. There were instances of soldiers refusing to fight. Some fleeing to Cameroon on two occasions.
NAF A-29 with its panoply of GBU Paveway II laser guided bombs, 70mm rockets with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and 589 kilogram bombs. The cutting edge of American precision guided munitions and the NAF is the only in sub-sahara Africa to employ them.
The GBU paveway II integrates the most advanced guidance system that basically converts "dumb" Gravity bombs into precision guided munitions. A semi-active laser seeker and pneumatically controlled canards guide the weapon to its targets with pin point accuracy.
Enter the hydra rockets.
In their basic configurations these are basic 70mm unguided rockets. Not different from unguided rockets used by the L-39ZA or Alpha jets.
However the APKWS they came with transforms these "dumb" rockets into laser-guided weapons.