Military veteran expresses confidence in Super Puma helicopter, thanks CAS for innovation
Lagos, April 27, 2026
A retired Aeronautic Engineer of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Commodore Taiwo Badru, has expressed confidence in the ability of the Super Puma helicopter discharging its duties in the fight against insurgency.
Badru, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday, commended the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, for the innovation of the helicopter and vision for NAF.
NAN reports that the Nigerian Air Force reactivated the super puma helicopter in February, after three years.
The veteran said that many of the engineers were licensed engineers from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna, providing them the needed knowledge and skill set, to maintain the aircraft overtime.
“I will refer to myself as one of the pioneer maintenance engineers of the helicopter because the helicopter was acquired in 1988, the same year I acquired training in France.
“I did my training and got my licence on the helicopter and gathered much experience when the helicopter was deployed to Sierra Leone for ECOMOG operation in 1990.
“I was also called upon to work on the helicopter before it was reactivated and gave the present engineers hands-on training; that is why I am confident in their abilities,” he said.
Badru urged officers to remain motivated and focused on their craft adding that through local ingenuity, they would be able to handle and maintain the helicopter with little help from foreign partners.
The veteran said that in aviation, if one flew a particular equipment for six months, the person would be required to go for a recurrency.
He defined a recurrency training (or recurrent training) as a mandatory, periodic instruction for professionals, particularly in aviation, to maintain skills, ensure safety compliance, and update knowledge on procedures.
“Pilots and cabin crew use this training to refresh knowledge on emergency procedures, aircraft systems, and regulations to stay current,” he said.
