The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) announced on 24 June that it will soon be deploying Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) and AS365 Dauphin helicopters in northwest Nigeria to support Operation ‘Sharan Daji’.
The NAF released this photograph of the three H135 that it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. (Nigerian Air Force)
The NAF said the aircraft are to be used for surveillance and intelligence gathering flights to help “checkmate the challenges of armed robbery, kidnapping, and cattle rustling”.
This is the first official admission that H135 and AS365 helicopters are in service with the NAF, although photographs showing the former type with Nigerian markings emerged via social media sources earlier this year.
The NAF said it received all the helicopters from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
