The Kenya Air Force (KAF) became the first African country to acquire and take ownership of the tactical C-145A Skytruck aircraft for use in rapid response, aerial patrols and other military interventions.
Kenya Defense Forces receiving the C-145As is intended to phase out its ageing fleet of the Chinese-made Y-12 aircraft.
The C-145A Skytruck aircraft has been described as a workhorse aircraft capable of conducting airdrops, delivering paratroopers, and serving in search-and-rescue missions.
U.S. Air Force crews arrived in February to train Kenyan pilots and ground crews in the operation of the tactical aircraft.
The aircraft will aid in rapid response to civilian emergencies, such as flooding, and military operations, such as confronting the Al-Qaeda aligned Al-Shabaab along the volatile border with Somalia.
The Polish-made C-145A aircraft is popular for missions such medical evacuation and aerial resupply. On resupply flights, crews drop material by parachute from the aircraft to people on the ground.
A Brief Look
- It’s a twin-engine light cargo plane.
- Operated by a three-person flight crew (two pilots and a loadmaster),
- But can carry up to 16 passengers, 10 combat-rigged paratroopers or up to 1,088 kilograms of cargo.
- The aircraft can also be reconfigured for precision combat airdrops, search-and-rescue and disaster relief missions.
- The aircraft’s fixed landing gear enables it to land and take off from short runways, including those made from packed earth or grass.
According to military sources, the recently acquired C-145A’s capabilities exceed those of similar aircraft currently being used by the KAF.
The crew attached to the C-145A includes three women in key positions: maintenance commander, avionics technician and airframe crew chief.
A Kenya Air Force ground crew is already taking lessons on how to maintain the C-145A Skytruck, which arrived in the country from the U.S. in April. The KAF received the first of three aircraft in a ceremony on April 20 at Moi Air Force Base in Nairobi, Kenya.
