Kenya’s military newly acquired the C-27J Spartan aircraft will undergo acceptance trials by a special military unit before being registered KAF 222.
The KDF's Air Force squadron unit is made up of engineers, pilots and other skilled teams that do testing on newly acquired aircraft before they are accepted and registered locally.
“They'll do 'acceptance trials' get the aircraft through its paces and certify everything is working as it should then only after that, they accept it into service,” a top military official told the Star.
The acceptance trial on the Spartan will be scheduled any time from now before wears its KAF registrations, in this case, KAF 222.
The new aircraft also baptised Spartan or bird acquired from Italy, was unveiled on Thursday last week at the Embakasi Garrison Nairobi.
The military transport aircraft is developed and manufactured by Leonardo Company based in Rome Italy. European media outlets put the prices of the new bird at between Sh2.7 and Sh3.8 billion depending on the features Kenya has proposed.
“KAF is the abbreviation while 222 is the serial number of aircraft as indicated on the tail,” the officer said.
The bird can airdrop cargo and paratroops in-flight, airlift a variety of cargo loads and conduct aeromedical evacuation of sick or wounded personnel.
Insiders also told the Star that the state will also acquire another 737 bird this year while three will be delivered at a later date.
“The C-27J can be quickly configured to carry out tactical transport including troops, cargo, paratroops, and cargo airdrop, Medevac/Casevac, VIP but also transport for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support and firefighting,” the Leonardo company says on its website.
The acquisition comes two weeks after KDF also acquired six MD-530F helicopters from the United States at undisclosed prices.
Kenya in November signed a deal with the Global Aerospace Logistics (GAL), which is part of the new Abu Dhabi-based Edge Group, to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to the Kenya Air Force.
“This contract marks the start of a long-term relationship that will see GAL play a critical role in Kenya Air Force’s primary mission of securing Kenyan airspace,” GAL Chairman Tareq Abdul Raheem Al Hosani said in a press statement.
About the aircraft.
It has upgraded air traffic control requirements such as SESAR and NextGen.
It provides Traffic Collision Avoidance System capability and features upgraded avionics system, cockpit control panels and LED aircraft lights.