Major Jonathan Kingu Otongo decision to return and conduct another airstrike on Target Araara was both suicidal and a good soldiers instinct, he killed 89 foreign terrorists.
In service to his country, KDF F-5 Tiger II jet bomber pilot conducted an airstrike on a target that he had earlier hit but thought required a precision sortie.
Target Araara, 53 kilometers off last KDF Checkpoint and scout range north of the seaport of Kismayu was a large compound housing foreign jihadists working for Al-Shabaab terrorists.
The compound used to be an old Italian military compound. Al-Shabaab terrorists had made a terror base out of the Old Italian military camp; a big house and some structures.
This is where suicide bombers and foreign jihadists were planning terror attacks, conducting intelligence activities, and logistics for terror attacks both inside Somalia and Kenya.
Major Jonathan Kingu Otongo fired the sidewinders on his F-5 Tiger II jet bomber. This time, he hit the center of the old house before he struck every aspect of the compound and its structures.
The bombs flattened the compound except for the banana plantation about 50 meters from the wall north.
From his cockpit he could see the terrorists perish others trying to make it out of the compound.
From the cockpit of the F-5 Tiger II jet bomber Major Jonathan Kingu Otongo was radio-reporting his BDA Report and comparing notes with his wingman.
Military intelligence and Intelligence services confirm that fighters from Britain, Pakistani, and Yemeni working for the terrorist group Al-Shabaab were all killed in this compound.
The Al-Shabaab foreign fighters used it as foreign fighter’s base where training, logistics, and intelligence activities were coordinated. The big house was used as an ammunition storage facility, guns armory, and an explosives store.
The airstrike destroyed all these resources. Al-Shabaab has since then buried the foreign fighters in a banana plantation.
Terrorists who survived the airstrike have abandoned the facility and moved to Malaile village across the river.
Engine Failure Led to Crash
The The Kenyan Military F-5 Tiger II Freedom fighter aircraft is powered by two General Electric J85-GE-21B turbojet engines.
The The Kenyan Military F-5 Tiger II Freedom developed an engine problem as it maneuvered back to base from the successful sortie (operations mission) leading to a crash that also claimed the pilot.
The aircraft crashed in the enemy territory making rescue and recon missions difficult since most Kenya Defense Forces are operating under AMISOM.
Extraction-Rescue Mission Mounted
Kenya Military conducted an extraction mission after the crash. They retrieved the radio and computer equipment of the aircraft but could not find the body of the Major.
Al-Shabaab had already taken away the body of the Major. They had planned to display his body in the villages but did not, Military Intelligence report.
Major Otongo was one of the best fighter pilots Kenya Military had ever.
Top Generals in the Kenya Military mourned him citing him as the most expensive asset the republic lost during its counter terrorism operations.
No Anti-Aircraft Fired on the a Kenyan Military F-5 Tiger II Freedom
Al-Shabaab sympathetic media and even international media houses including VOA and Reuters reported that Al-Shabaab claimed to have brought down the Kenyan aircraft.
Military Intelligence confirms that Al-Shabaab does not possess any anti-aircraft capability that can bring down highly maneuverable, reliable supersonic fighter, combining advanced aerodynamic design. These terrorists only have old guns which can only be lethal to low flying combat helicopters.
The Kenyan Military F-5 Tiger II Freedom has modern avionics and anti-enemy weapons system that keeps the aircraft safe from enemy missiles.
The avionics equipped in the aircraft include an inertial navigation system (INS), tactical air navigation (TACN) system, global positioning system (GPS), electronic counter measures (ECM), and hand on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system.
The aircraft features seven hard-points – two under the wing tip, four under the two wings, and one under the fuselage pylon station.
The F-5E Tiger II is armed with two 20mm pontiac M39A2 cannons on either side of the nose. The M39A2 is single-barreled automatic cannon and can fire munitions at the rate of 1,500rpm.
Four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and two AGM-65 Mavericks air-to-surface missiles as well as rockets are mounted on the seven hard points. The aircraft is also armed with unguided iron bombs
The Kenyan Military F-5 Tiger II Freedom had the AN/APQ-159 radar system an air-to-air radar system, which operates in four primary modes and two search modes with various ranges.
The advanced radar system provides increased off-boresight and doubles the range while enhancing the reliability. It is equipped with new planar phased array antenna similar to the parabolic dish of the AN/APQ-153
SO WHERE IS HIS BODY OF MAJOR JONATHAN KINGU IF YOU ARE CLAIMING YOU ARE INTELLIGENCES??? AND IF HE SAVED KENYANS FROM TERRORIST WHY CAN THE GOVERMENT GET HAS THE BODY WE BURY HIM ??? SO PLEASE STOP HURTING US NKT !!!!
Usife moyo ya mungu ni mengi ,
Brave pilot. Pole but we will remember you as a hero and an excellent fighter.
thats a hero.