The Nigerian Air Force is collaborating with Hungary to enhance its fighter pilot training, the operation and maintenance of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payload.
On 22 January, a Hungarian delegate consisting of the Hungarian Consul-General to Nigeria, Endre Peter Deri, and the Chief Executive Officer, Hungarian Magnus Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, Mr Laszo Boros, visited the Headquarters NAF in Abuja, they were received by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
At the time, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar disclosed that partnership between the two entities would enable the NAF to take advantage of the competencies available in Hungary to address some of the technical challenges the service currently faces in the conduct of its operations.
The CAS stated that the NAF was prepared to send a team to Hungary to assess available opportunities for aircraft and associated equipment acquisition, human capacity development as well as Research and Development (R&D), amongst other areas of collaboration.
“As you are aware we are fighting a counter-insurgency war in the North East and the aircraft produced by the Hungarian Magnus Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, which has ISR capability, would be useful in adding value to what we are doing in the North East and other Theatres of Operation”, the CAS said.
He highlighted other areas of interest to include the training of fighter pilots, aircraft technicians and engineers as well as capacity development for the operation and maintenance of ISR payloads and ISR imagery analysis.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, Hungarian Magnus Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, Laszo Boros, disclosed that the visit was aimed at seeking avenues to strengthen strategic partnerships for aircraft and associated equipment sales as well as capacity building.
He disclosed that the company was willing to provide bespoke solutions that would support the operations of the NAF in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminality. Similarly, the Hungarian Consul-General, Endre Peter Deri, expressed preparedness to deepen partnership with the NAF, stating that it would further improve on the existing cordial relationship between Nigeria and Hungary in the area of capacity building.
