‘Nigerian Army Allegedly Buys, Refurbishes 60-Year-Old Firefighting Helicopters, Presents Them As New’

[Enioluwa Adeniyi]

The Nigerian Army, under Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, in June 2024, celebrated the arrival of two Bell UH-1H ‘Huey’ helicopters at a ceremony at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.​

Registered as NA 010 and NA 011, the helicopters were claimed by Army spokesman Major General Onyema Nwachukwu to be newly acquired, intended to bolster operational capacity in air support for ground missions.

Army spokesman, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement after the ceremony claimed the helicopters were bought new.

He said, “The Nigerian Army (NA) has taken a significant step in enhancing its operational capabilities with the delivery of the first batch of new aircrafts (sic).

“The berthing of the aircrafts (sic) marks a significant milestone in the development of the Nigerian Army Aviation’s capacity to provide air support for ground operations.

“The aircraft BELL UH-1H (HUEY) helicopters, were formally received by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja in a brief ceremony held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Thursday 20 June, 2024.”

However, an investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that the helicopters were not newly manufactured but rather refurbished firefighting helicopters previously used in South Africa.

The aircraft, formerly registered as ZT-RAI and ZT-RCS, were acquired after years of service and abandonment in South Africa before being refurbished and rebranded by the Nigerian Army.

Further verification showed that the helicopters were listed for sale on South African aviation marketplace avcom.co.za on May 21, 2024, before being transferred to Nigeria.

“Two Bell UH-1H Huey helicopters ZT-RCS and ZT-RAI were recently noted flying at Rand Airport painted in an overall olive drab livery. These former forest fire fighting helicopters had been in South Africa for several years but were put up for sale earlier this year.

“Photos and videos subsequently published on social media platforms showed several Nigerian Army helicopter pilots received training on these two helicopters at Henley Air.

“While these two helicopters have not yet featured in this update as cancelled from the local register they were subsequently shown on social media and news agency posts on delivery to the recently-established Nigerian Army Aviation Airwing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria on 20 June wearing the serial numbers NA 010 and NA 011 respectively,” SA Flyer, an African aviation magazine reported on August 24, 2024.

According to Defensehere.com, NA 010, which was previously registered as ZT-RCS in South Africa, was manufactured in 1968, and the US Army used it before transitioning to the civilian market as N518CB.

Northwest Helicopters then exported it to South Africa in 2014.

NA 011, previously registered as ZT-RAI in South Africa, was initially manufactured in 1966, the website added.

It was also used by the US Army until 1996, after which it was transferred to Helinet Corp in California and operated under the registration N313CF.

Later, it was used by Northwest Helicopters and Turbines LLC before being delivered to South Africa in 2015.

Attempts to get a reaction from the Nigeran Army were not successful as at press time.

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