SUN OCT 18 2026-theGBJournal| The Association of African Air Forces (AAAF) has reaffirmed Nigeria’s role in advancing airpower across the continent while expressing condolences to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) following a fatal crash involving one of its ATR aircraft.
Major General Melissa Coburn, representing the AAAF Co-Chairman, conveyed the association’s message of solidarity to Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, who also chairs the AAAF.
The engagement took place during a Trilateral Leadership Review Conference involving the United States, Kenya and Nigeria, held from 13 to 16 October 2026.
The association also advanced preparations for the Association of African Air Forces Exercise (AAAFEX) 2027, scheduled for February next year.
The conference included strategic engagements with the Eastern African Standby Force (EASF), visits to key aviation facilities and discussions on the planned exercise.
An EASF delegation led by its Force Commander, Brigadier General Stephen Huria, expressed its commitment to participating in AAAFEX 2027.
The exercise is expected to strengthen cooperation among participating forces, improve their ability to operate together and enhance responses to humanitarian emergencies and disasters.
The discussions also focused on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), interoperability and responses to operational and humanitarian emergencies.
The engagements reinforced the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to regional cooperation, professional exchanges and collective operational capability.
Nigeria’s participation in the conference and preparations for AAAFEX 2027 underline its contribution to efforts to strengthen African airpower and improve coordinated responses to emerging security challenges across the continent.
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