Police unveil three more choppers to fly up air wing operations

One of the three choppers that was unveiled by the Interior CS Fred Matiang'i. [Courtesy]

The police air wing now has 11 helicopters in service following acquisition of an additional three.

The new choppers include two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters- one configured for VIP use and another for advanced mission operations.

This increases to 11, the number of helicopters in service. The latest choppers were unveiled by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi last Friday.

According to officials, the advanced mission helicopter is equipped with a camera capable of scanning car number plates and zoom into individuals in a crowd within a range of at least five kilometers.

The third aircraft acquired by the police, an A12, has been configured for deployments with the capacity to ferry a dozen police officers.

One of the choppers will be dedicated to the Presidential Escort Unit. The unit protects the president and his family.

The new aircrafts estimated to have cost the taxpayers Sh4 billion add into an assortment of police equipment procured so far.

Matiangi said the government was determined to improve capabilities of the police.

“In 2013, we had three grounded helicopters. Today, we are set to have a total of 11 functional helicopters by next month in addition to two fixed-wing aircrafts,” he said at the Wilson Airport when he unveiled the choppers.

Matiangi said government is keen to build the capacity of the police in line with police modernization drive that has seen the service quipped with new Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and other equipment.

In addition to the three helicopters received, the police received two trainer aircrafts from the Italian Police.

Inspector General Joseph Boinnet they are happy with the government for continuously enhancing the capacity of the police saying the modernization programme had greatly enhanced security in the country.

“We’ve come a long way as a police service in terms of equipment and this means we are able to respond to incidents quicker,” Boinnet said.

On June 18, Members of Parliament were informed Interior ministry had procured four choppers from Italy without the approval of the House.

This was after the Committee on Administration and National Security chaired by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange made an impromptu visit to the National Police Service Airwing in Nairobi.

The procurement was apparently done by the ministry.

On September 8, 2016, taxpayers lost Sh680 million after a VIP carrier helicopter crashed at the National Youth Service engineering institute near Mathare.

The chopper was not compensated by the tendering firm because it did not have insurance and warranty.

Police capacity had in the past been affected due to lack of the aircrafts and grounded ones.

The service has now acquired new ones and refurbished others at exorbitant rate.