The chief of the air staff (CAS) Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, commissioned the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Warfare Centre nine years after it was established in Kainji, Niger State.
The CAS also inaugurated its first course on basic air power for young officers, noting that air power had become a key determinant of operational effectiveness as well as a force multiplier in all ongoing operations in the country. He stated this on Tuesday, 27 September 2022.
Air Marshal Amao stated that the Centre must seek to support the airman across the spectrum of air warfare requirements; ranging from training and operational readiness, to doctrinal and tactics development. Such support, he noted, will enhance effectiveness by giving impetus to Service-wide efforts that will translate existing materiel and human capacity into actual capabilities to fulfil air power tasks demanded by national defence and security imperatives.
The Air Warfare Centre for the Nigerian Air Force was established in 2013 to develop operational and tactical doctrines, as well as provide integrated mission support training for enhanced joint force employment. Nonetheless, the Centre was only established on paper since then. TIts primary task is to offer training for effective operations of the Air Force in theatres across the country. Based on this mandate, the Centre’s curriculum is intended to include doctrine development and operational-level training, as well as operational readiness assessment across all combat units.
Air Marshal Oladayo Amao instituted a team of experts made up of respected retired senior NAF officers known as the members of the Air Power Consult, to midwife the establishment of the re-engineered air warfare centre.explained that the centre will play a significant role in the efforts to apply the military instrument of power so as to address the myriad of security challenges facing the nation.