The Federal Government through the Ministry of Defence, on Wednesday, handed over three Agusta Westland 109 Trekker Helicopters to the Nigerian Navy.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, (CNS) Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla accompanied by other senior officers were present to receive the newly acquired helicopters.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, stating that the brief handover ceremony was done at the Caverton Helicopters Limited (CHL) hangar facilities in Ikeja Lagos.

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The CNS thanked the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for his unflinching support to the Armed Forces in general and the Nigerian Navy in particular.

He also expressed gratitude to both the Minister of Defence and the Minister of State for Defence for facilitating the acquisition of the helicopters.

According to the statement, the helicopter is designed with a landing skid which gives it a better loading capacity compared to wheeled helicopters.

Additionally, the helicopters are designed with auxiliary tanks which give them extended endurance of up to 3hrs40mins.