₦airaland Forum

Stargate254:
Yeah, I thought about it too when I saw the pictures. But the 2009 move was a cluster fvck, , there was no structure, we just trained ppl and send them back. But this time there is a legitimate govt with its own structures and has been fighting the enemy for some time now.
And what choice does KDF have. If you listened to the CDF of KDF interview on how the recent maritime ruling by ICJ will affect KDF operations and relations in Somalia going forward .. you could deduce that his thinking was right now Alkebab is the real and current enemy ...
It's better to deal with an aggressive but legitimate and conventional state/nation than ragtag militia that will use any means necessary to achieve their goals including targeting civilians.

I would think it would be the other way round. By its very nature of been an extremist organization alshabaab is unlikely to gain much external support and thus is limited to controlling somali territory and staging terror attacks against civilians. This is a credible but not existential threat. An aggressive legitimate somali government is able to get external support. For example in case of any future clash it may obtain military support ( e.g drones from Turkey) that may give it a military edge. Majority Muslim countries would also likely rally behind and provide covert or overt military support.

This is just my opinion but we are making a terrible mistake in terms of our threat assessment. Any counter terrorism operations by "occupational forces" have largely failed world over ( cc. Afghanistan, Vietnam). We should gradually pull out and let SNA do the bulk of the fighting and dying.

I would propose that KDF in future be limited to providing a robust border defence and mobile ground and air forces that can preemptively destroy any concentrations of militants at least 100km from our border. But other than that let the SNA deal with alshabaab, prolonged occupation is unlikely to ever result in success.

KDF training their future enemies.

Reminiscent of the 2009 -2010 period when kenya trained 000s of Somali troops who would later alshabaab
[quote author=Stargate254 post=107958636][/quote]

Don't have any information on that. I am very skeptical that Kenya can field a marine expeditionary force any time soon , that would be a waste of resources. Let them focus on the basics first i.e better training, communication gear, surveillance assets and acquiring naval assets.

kikuyu1:
Fyi, the SBS and CDU, Clearance Diving Unit have been in existence for over a decade. Is this unit the proposed Kenya Marine Expeditionary Force, a battalion size unit with all own units or a new one?

From KDF twitter account : "The Kenya Navy is training an elite force to tackle the ever changing global warfare at sea.
The Marine Commandos will inject real time asymmetric tactics and operations to tackle enemy actions.
They will augment the existing Kenya Navy -Special Force"

Training of KDF personnel on the M119 105mm howitzer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afIy0WxCGmg

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/04/chadian-troops-kill-1000-boko-haram-fighters-lake-chad-200409183528130.html
Does any one have more information on this? There may be some element of exaggeration but still the Chad armed forces are proving more capable that better funded militaries facing insurgents

KDF- air force and rangers training

Fidha254:
I did see one Z9 chopper in the background though, it can carry about 6 troops right?

Every year since 2013, KDF has been given an extra $100m (Ksh10B) called "mordernization kitty" I have always held the view that instead of trying to distribute that money around every department ending up in a situation where no dept has the financial muscle to buy anything significant they should have instead gave it all to one department then the following year another department.. and so forth so that in 1 financial year, the airforce alone gets that extra $100m to buy any toys they want, then next year Navy gets their moment and then the specOps regiment also get the same ...

That $100 m is allocated to the department of looting and stealing. They always get the highest allocation for 'modernisation' . How else could you expalain how some of these army guys on a modest salary are now able to buy properties in Runda and Muthaiga.Lets not kid ourselves there is nothing that is being purchased with that kitty. The NIS is also gets close to $300 m a year too, another cashcow hidden under the veil of national security.

If you can't maintain it, don't buy it.
Armoured vehicle belonging to ASTPU of the Kenya Police

It has all to do with price, the aw139 is cheaper than the mi-17(its main competitor in africa) whose cost has increased significantly over the past few years. Based on 2013 costs a new aw139 was approximately 12m USD while an new mi-17 was around 16-18m USD. The American and French medium helicopters are out of price range for most Africa countries.

Fidha254:
Whats with the obsession with Agusta, AW109,139 --- At this rate we should force them to bring an assembly plant to Africa
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/5/5/5474553.jpg?v=v45b96c80ede

www.nairaland.com/attachments/9045320_img20190322081206_jpeg2dbc76e4706de90353f1992dbc6b621c


Notice the numbers on the side window and also the serial numbers at the tail, they are not far apart

Kenya Air Force new AW-139 .
It's a good addition but logistical and maintenance issues might prove difficult with mi-17s, Hueys, puma's, Harbin Z9s, eurocopter fennecs and MD 500.Is there a procurement strategy ?

The SF's probably get better training than ordinary infantry units. But the rifles also play a key part, no matter how well trained you are you can't hold a g3 rifle in position all day, with a M4 that may be possible due to less weight and better ergonomics

Fidha254:
A member of Kenya airforce QRF taking over a situation from regular KDF inside an FOB in Somalia.
Why do special forces units have different ways of handling/positioning their rifles compared to regular troops. Aren't they all supposed to shoot as quick as they can get to the trigger, and if the SF's way is better shouldn't that be the standard for everyone else? Or do they just like to look different/cool

Pics of weapons used by the terrorist in Riverside, Nairobi.

rugged7:
Bruv,

me and you can tell the difference between a non active old boer/muzungu with a firearm and an active specops agent on ground.

And it's not just that one guy; you can see 2 different people in my pix above.

reliable sources point to their being UK/Israeli specops.

anyway,it's not a blame game.

I'm just curious

I can't talk about UK/Israel specops but one the first responders were Australian protection details as their embassy is just a few meters from the scene.

[quote author=kikuyu1 post=72541220][/quote]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/10NAIROBI9_a.html
As regards funding and equipment , the Kenya Special Operations Force(KSOF)/Ranger Strike Force ( including elements of the 20th parachute batallion) are the only units that use the SCAR H. The article shows that they were initially trained, mentored and equipped by Uncle Sam.

The total investment from section 1206 funding has been 40 million USD for the Ranger Strike force. Section 1206 grants the Secretary of Defense the authority to train and equip foreign military forces.
https://web.archive.org/web/20110708231354/https://www.conferences.state.gov/RM/programevaluation2011/Related%20Documents/Defense%20Workshops/3Ds%20in%20Nairobi%20-%20An%20overview%20of%20diplomacy%2C%20development%2C%20and%20defense%20at%20the%20U.S.%20Mission%2C%20Nairobi%2C%20Kenya.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CCp5g4Zki8
Slightly off topic; review of the SCAR H by former navy seals. Probably explains why Uncle Sam has been extremely generous to KDF with their free toys.

kikuyu1:
No. The planners knew all along the KDF would need a reinf. brigade in theatre for the foreseeable future to ensure security for the LAPPSET project. There was no other way-you do realise the importance of the TransAfrica landbridge and how it ties in with the Global one belt one road?

This is a future Suez/Panama canal:the geopolitical implications are continental and global. Think forward!

The LAPPSET project has basically stalled due to lack of funding. Uganda has shifted it's oil pipeline from Lamu to a Tanzanian route. Basically LAPPSET can only serve :
1. Ethiopia (which has access to the sea from Djibouti and has started mending fences with Eritrea
2. South Sudan( a failed state)

As regards planning of the operation.... I sincerely doubt that they made any strategic calculations about the long term implications. Larges areas within Kenya are no go zones in Madera, Wajir, Garissa and Lamu. The funding for KDF in Somalia comes from the EU and USA . Do you honestly think that they will continue funding AMISOM forever.

kikuyu2:
Wow! A book on Op Linda nchi by the brass came out 2015 and I had no idea! Haven't read it yet but it seems they're not sparing anyone including their serving colleagues.

Hopefully it explains the strategic demands of the Lamu to Douala Port ,the TransAfrica road/rail/pipeline land bridge whose construction is ongoing. With at least 3 k AS fighters just a few kms from Lamu that gov had to protect the route-Op Linda Nchi was born.
Forget Western media BS like this:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/18/130739/wikileaks-us-warned-kenya-against
.
[Google Scholar]
). Interviews with US government officials also indicate that ‘Kenya did not coordinate its invasion plans with the Obama administration’. Moreover, the Los Angeles Times quotes ‘a senior US officer (who) said that the action caught the Pentagon by surprise’ (Cloud and Dilanian 2011 Cloud, David, and Ken Dilanian. 2011. “Accessed December 3, 2013.”
http://www.articles.latimes.com/print/2011/nov/17/world/la-fg-us-somalia
.
[Google Scholar]
). The Kenya specialist, David Throup, agrees with the official US interpretation that the invasion was a surprise to the Washington government, and he even adds that ‘American and British officials had discouraged the Kenyan government from intervening […]’ (

As I Kenyan i have to admit that we are bogged down in Somalia. Operation Linda started in 2011 we are still there in 2018. Alshabab is still a credible fighting force and worse still it has transformed from a purely Somali terror group to one that is increasingly transnational with numerous Kenyans.
The current strategy is not sustainable. We can't be in Somalia forever. There needs to be a change in strategy and approach.

kikuyu1:
Is this the same contract from last year? Some 530s,AH1s and Air Tractors came in at the same time while earlier 2017 some Sky Trucks appeared.

No this has no relationship with any other procurement done by KDF. The initial contract for kdf md530 was done in May 2017 while this one is dated september 2017. This contract was to ensure light attack helicopters are made available to allies of the United States. The initial delivery of 30 md530 helicopters (valued at 176.6 million usd ) has been made to Afghanistan.
The USA foreign military sales program is quite complicated as the USA department of defense is the entity that does the procurement of behalf of partners and allies, this is done to reduce costs that partner nations would incur when procuring the equipment individually. The 150 helicopters are not for one country but will be made availble to different allies.

This link attached will give a clear description of the program : https://www.mdhelicopters.com/images/news/NR_IDIQ_Next30_FINAL.pdf

giles14:
1.4 bln for a single engine helicopter.

I will not say a word again about our tucano.

I don see people wey pass us

Kindly read the fine print.
"The contract which was awarded through the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) was issued against its 5-year, $1.4 billion light scout attack helicopter IDIQ contract and includes initial logistics support (ILS) for the aircraft, aircraft systems and ground support equipment."

The IDIQ Contract vehicle ensures an estimated quantity of up to 150 armed MD 530F Cayuse Warrior and/or MD 530G attack helicopters are available to U.S. and Partner Nation Military Forces.

Kindly note this very important point: The 1.4 billion USD is for 150 armed MD helicopters. That translates to about 9.3 million USD per light attack helicopter. The cost that Kenya will incur may be approximately 56 million USD based on their order of 6 helicopters. That cost is quite reasonable compared to the absurd figures that you were assuming.

Kenya Rural Border Patrol Unit

Danooz87:
Wrong this is Administration Police RBPU SG.

RBPU training

kikuyu1:
Don't be too sure. It all depends on the fine print and currency fluctuations between delivery and signing of contract.

I wish i could be as optimistic as you but i find it a bit ironical that KDF managed from 2009 - 2013 to acquire : 67 puma mraps, 12 second hand f-5 jets, thousands of m4 rifles, 3 mi-17 helicopters, 18 nora b52 howitzers, 6 grob light trainers , 4 harbin Z9 helicopters and overhaul of its panhard and vickers tanks with a budget of around 600 mil - 800 mil USD.

However from 2014 to date the defence budget has hovered around the 1B usd mark with an additional 100 mil - 200 mil usd for modernization and yet there has been nothing of significance that has been acquired. There is a real possibility that they have been acquiring 'AIR'.

[quote author=EMW01 post=68566601][/quote]

Fidha254:
Kenya military budget now $1.07B. and internal security (police) now $1.4B... this includes about $150m each for police and military 'mordernisation'.


https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001283903/kenya-military-budget-shoots-past-sh100b

I hope that a serious audit of the military is conducted because despite the increase in allocation there is no major weapon systems that have been acquired. Most of the acquisitions have been donations from friendly countries. I suspect that serious graft and corruption is likely to be uncovered.

Continued

Assorted Pics of Kenyan Security Personnel

Looks like KDF has acquired the puma m36 mrap to complement the puma m26. Check out min 1:59

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2rWb2cbqRc

KDF in somalia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYXa2rhULys&feature=youtu.be&a=

1st SCOTS training KDF

KDF

British peace support team training KDF personnel