By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has said that air power has emerged as the means of choice in tackling multiple security threats, due to its unique characteristics of speed, lethality, and ubiquity.
Air Marshal Abubakar said this, while, addressing military audience at the third Air Force Forum, Conference and Exhibition, organized to mark the Nigerian Air Force Sixtieth Anniversary Celebration, in Abuja.
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The Sub-Saharan Africa, he said, faces a multitude of national security challenges, including violent extremism, terrorism, and insurgency.
The Air Chief noted that this gathering of African Air Chiefs could not have come at a better time than now when the yearning for collaboration towards peace and stability on the continent is at its peak.
“Accordingly, the all-important issue of partnership in aerospace innovation to sustain our air power capabilities, to protect and advance our Defence and Security interests would form the crux of our discussions in the Third African Air Forces Forum. The African Air Forces Forum is a regional platform for advancing air force capabilities and building pillars of bilateral and multilateral partnerships amongst the air forces of African countries. The Forum offers a unique opportunity for air forces to showcase their technological innovations that contribute to enhance Africa’s aerial defence and security capabilities. For this year’s symposium, the theme: “Leveraging Strategic Partnerships in Aerospace Innovations for Regional Security” was carefully coined to reflect a critical aspect of our collective efforts in securing our respective countries and by extension, the African Continent,” he said.
He also expressed optimism that this year’s conference and exhibition will be both engaging and illuminating, adding that it promises to facilitate the cross-fertilization of ideas and the introduction of the latest aerospace and defence systems and technologies, all in support of collective efforts to provide enduring solutions to Africa’s security challenges.
Declaring the conference open, the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammed Badaru, said, the Nigerian Air Force has come a long way, having developed from inception in 1964 into a force to recon with in african continent and the world at large.
He said that Nigeria and countries around the globe are currently undergoing turbulent times with regard to security.
According to him, “The air force has made significant contributions to the joint effort in countering terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and several other criminal activities that threaten our corporate existence. I am therefore pleased to state that a lot has been achieved in the internal security operation in the country where the excesses of criminal elements are being curtailed”.
In his goodwill message, Lt Gen. Jia Zhigang, Deputy Commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Air Force, said that in recent years with China Africa Cooperation Forum and the Belt and Roads Cooperation mechanism, China and Africa have built an all round, multilevel and three dimensional framework for cooperation.
