NAF: Mobility Command Organises Competition To Enhance Local Sourcing Of Materials

 

The Mobility Command, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Yenagoa on Thursday organised a Research and Development (R&D) competition to enhance local sourcing of materials to help lower dependency on foreigner materials for NAF's operations.

The Chief of Standard and Evaluation, Headquarters, NAF, AVM Bala Abubakar, the Special Guest of Honour said that such competitions would help provide local innovative maintenance methods and logistics support systems.

Mobility Command, NAF 2023 Inter-units R&D Competition held at 631 Air Craft Maintenance Depot (ACMD) Hanger, Ikeja, Lagos.

The competition held in Lagos State because the Command's 301 Heavy Airlift Group and C130 Aircraft was situated at ACMD Hanger.

Abubakar said that the service placed a high premium on R&D which was captured in the third key driver of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Isiaka Amao's vision.

"The CAS vision involves the sustenance of platform and equipment serviceability through innovative maintenance methods and logistics support systems.

"This has contributed immensely to the improvement of military technology and weaponry which have greatly impacted modern warfare as well as several other aspects of human endeavor.

"Similarly, NAF understands the importance of research and innovation in order to efficiently fulfill it's assigned roles," he said.

The AVM said that R&D had produced many innovations for the operations of the NAF which had saved foreign exchange for the country.

"The nation is faced with multifaceted internal security challenges in the various geopolitical zones and it has therefore become imperative for NAF to look inwards towards developing more indigeniuos technological capacity.

"Innovations such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), MI-35 Hydraulic Accumulator Diaphragm and 30mm Canon Loader, Heat Shields Protective Cones, Break Pads among many others have been produced through R&D.

"This event will bring out products which can be patented to aid the advancement of NAF operations in particular and the development of the nation at large," Abubakar said.

He urged personnel and researchers to take advantage of the NAF R&D Centre which had recently been relocated to Oshogbo to form part of the multi-billion naira aviation village in Osun.

"The centre when completed will have state-of-the-art workshops, laboratories and equipment to facilitate world-class R&D.

"We have also signed 50 MOUs between the NAF and tertiary institutions and other research institutes around the country.

"So, I urge our teams of researchers to take advantage of this initiative to further enhance and consolidate our research effort," Abubakar said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 301 Heavy Airlift Group came first, 305 Special Mobility Group came second while 607 Executive Airlift Group came third. 

Source: NAN