Yemisi Izuora
THE Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello has said that closer cooperation between the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Air Force will boost the nations airspace management.
Bello who spoke at the Airspace Management Seminar at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State said collaboration between the civil and military is needed especially to ensure success in the fight against insurgency.
The permanent secretary who was represented by the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam,stressed that the deployment of Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) along with other Air Traffic Management technologies by NAMA has greatly enhanced the safety and security of the Nigerian airspace.
In his remark, the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam stated that the deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance –Contract/ Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (ADS-C/ CPDLC) by NAMA would boost military reconnaissance activities as well as the discreet operations like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
He said the data link communication provides for a unique channel of communication for the exchange of messages between each aircraft and Air Traffic Control without other aircraft being privy to the conversation.
Abdulsalam therefore pledged the agency’s readiness “to support and partner with the military in the area of personnel training within the limits of available resources,’’ just as he promised to fast-track the ratification of Standard Operating Procedures for the operation of UAVs in the Nigerian airspace by the civil and military authorities.
This year’s Airspace Management Seminar with the theme “Exploiting Airspace Dominance/Ubiquity in Counterterrorism/Counter-insurgency – Roles of UAVs and Radar Coverage” was attended by representatives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Army as well as the Nigerian Navy.