The Nigerian Navy has received three newly acquired Agusta Westland 109 Trekker Helicopters to boost its operations.
Navy Spokesman Cdre A. Adams-Aliu said the helicopters were presented by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at the Caverton Helicopters Limited (CHL) hangar facilities in Ikeja, Lagos.
He said the AW 109 Helicopter has a purpose-built VIP configuration with a full leather and noise attenuation system.
He stated further that the helicopter is designed with a landing skid, which gives it a better loading capacity than wheeled helicopters.
“The helicopter is designed with auxiliary tanks, giving it extended endurance of up to 3hrs40mins.
Thus, the helicopter could be used for long-range transport flights. The helicopters could also be retrofitted with purpose-built mission equipment,” he said.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, who received the helicopters, thanked the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his unflinching support of the Armed Forces in general and the Nigerian Navy in particular.
Ogalla also expressed gratitude to both the Minister of Defence and the Minister of State for Defence for facilitating the acquisition of the helicopters to boost NN operations such as Air Recce, Search and Rescue, Air Insertion and MEDEVAC.
The Permanent Secretary MOD, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana; Director Navy Affairs MOD, Dr Raji Isiaka Ogunshola; the President Caverton Group, Chief Remi Makanjuola, and the Managing Director Caverton; Group Captain Bello (RTD), were also present at the hand-over ceremony.
