By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, says his command philosophy is critical towards building the capabilities of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for future air warfare.
He said his command philosop was to transform NAF into an agile and resilient force that would effectively meet the airpower demands of national security in all operational environments.
Abubakar said this while delivering a paper titled, “The Future of Air Warfare in the Nigerian Air Force – My Command Philosophy,” at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji on Thursday in Kaduna State.
He said this in a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, on Thursday in Abuja.
Abubakar said any armed forces that failed to prepare for the probable future would always be reactive rather than proactive in its approach to national security issues.
The CAS said the nature of future air warfare would be determined by a number of factors, including internal and external threats to national security, the national economic fortune, and the air power capabilities of the Service.
He said the NAF under his command would acquire Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for real time Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance and precision strikes and replacing its medium and heavy airlift capabilities for more effective and rapid mobility.
He added that efforts were in the final stages to conduct the first-ever capabilities-based assessment of the NAF, which would enhance the operational effectiveness of the Service in current and future air warfare.
Abubakar also said human capacity development in the NAF under his watch, was consciously tailored towards achieving assigned tasks and bridging current and future gaps in NAF capabilities.
He said about 1,476 personnel were currently enrolled in several training programmes, both domestically and internationally with a view to addressing present and future air combat needs of the NAF.
“All selections for course will be merit-based to ensure that only the most qualified are selected to give the NAF value for money.
“NAF is implementing a holistic aircraft maintenance planning system, which entails that all the spares and consumables requirements for future aircraft inspections for the next four quarters are compiled in advance and processed with immediate effect.
“This will invariably ensure that aircraft were available for quick combat against enemies in order to meet national security objectives,” he said.
Abubakar said NAF had continued to make significant gains toward domestic manufacturing of required capabilities through research and development activities in addition to utilising cutting-edge technologies.
According to him, NAF has been manufacturing various military equipment to support counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations through the Air Force Research and Development Centre.
He added that NAF had maintained a highly motivated force by enhancing personnel welfare and infrastructural renewal to eneble personnel accomplish personal organisational goals.
This, according to him, led to his decision to convene a committee of officers to ascertain the accommodation deficit of the NAF with a view to addressing the lingering problem.
The air chief said new uniforms and accoutrements would also be issued to all personnel on a yearly basis, adding that payments of all entitlements were being made as and when due.
These efforts, according to him, will put NAF personnel in the right state of psychological readiness for air warfare now and in the future.
Abubakar said efforts were being made to address the challenges militating against operational effectiveness of the NAF to enhance its combat readiness for future warfare.
He reiterated the commitment of the NAF to surmount the challenges and build its combat readiness for both current and future battles. (NAN)
