By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has expressed willingness to deepen its partnership with Dornier Aviation Nigeria AIEP (DANA) Limited, and other private sector players.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, made this disclosure, when Chairman of Dornier Aviation Nigeria, Alhaji Suleiman Sani Bello, led the top management of the company to Headquarters NAF, on a courtesy visit.
Air Marshal Abubakar appreciated the long-standing cooperation and mutually beneficial relationship the NAF and Dornier Aviation have shared over the years.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, in a statement, said, the CAS noted that the company has grown to become a formidable aircraft service centre in Nigeria and the West African sub region.
The CAS also noted that the NAF has benefited immensely from Dornier’s technical expertise and capacity in aircraft maintenance, especially on the Dornier-228 aircraft.
He equally used the opportunity to solicit for support regarding the timely provision of DO-228 aircraft spares at reasonable prices.
While appreciating Dornier Aviation for their continued support to the NAF, he assured the Chairman of NAF’s commitment to deepening existing cordial relationship and collaborations, especially in the areas of maintenance training, spares provisioning as well as Research and Development amongst others.
The Chairman, Dornier Aviation Nigeria AIEP (DANA) Limited, Alhaji Suleiman Sani Bello, reiterated the commitment of his organization to further strengthen the existing collaboration and cooperation with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
While thanking the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, for the good working relationship both organisations have enjoyed over the last four decades, he also expressed the zeal and commitment of Dornier Aviation to collaborate and continue to provide solutions, training, maintenance and logistics support to the NAF.
Alhaji Bello also noted that Dornier Aviation has an existing Memorandum of Understanding with the Air Force Institute of Technology to conduct practical loggings for students to attain their civil license as well as to provide practical experience for students in aircraft maintenance, training, spare parts management and flight tracking/data monitoring system, among other expertise.
The Chairman proposed a strengthened collaboration with the NAF, stating that the company stands ready to provide aircraft acquisition, maintenance, and logistics support services for general aviation.
This partnership, according to him, will not only enhance the operational efficiency of the NAF but will also contribute to the growth of local content in terms of employment and technology transfer.
He equally revealed that Dornier Aviation intends to step into the future through the establishment of state-of-the-art Fire Fighting Training facility with virtual reality classrooms, practical applications training as well as aircraft rescue and firefighting simulators.
Looking into the future, Alhaji Bello further intimated the CAS that Dornier would be establishing a training school simulator in 2024 to key into the worldwide civil aviation requirements to provide quality training and operational experience, among many other requirements.
