A Franco-German collaboration France and Germany jointly designed the Alpha Jet in the 1970s to serve as a two-seat jet trainer — the airplane fighter pilots fly and practice firing weapons with before they begin training on combat aircraft. The French Dassault and German Dornier aviation companies were interested in replacing American T-33 jet trainers — adapted Korean War-era F-80 Shooting Stars — with an aircraft of their own manufacture. In the end, the Germans decided they’d rather stick with American trainers — but opted to produce the so-called Alpha Jet as a light ground- attack plane. You can tell the French Alpha-E Jets apart by their more rounded nose, while the German Alpha-As feature a needle-sharp nose accommodating more advanced avionics and sensors, including a Doppler radar navigation system. The Alpha Jet entered service in 1978. Eventually some 480 Alpha Jets were sold to 13 countries. The 93 German Alpha Jets retired in 1997, but the nearly 100 French Alpha Jets continue to serve as jet trainers. The Alpha Jet has a reputation for excellent low-speed handling and being very forgiving for novice pilots  — in fact, the French air force’s only complaint was that it was actually too easy for trainees, who received a nasty shock when they graduated to more difficult-to-handle combat aircraft. The small, lightweight jets — weighing fewer than four tons empty — are known for being highly maneuverable and can fly as fast as 621 miles per hour — faster than a typical airliner, but slower than the speed of sound. They can lug up to 5,500 pounds of munitions on five hardpoints, including precision-guided weapons like Maverick anti-tank missiles or even heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. However, a more typical load would include two SNEB unguided rocket pods, each carrying 18 68-millimeter rockets and two 250 pounds bombs. In addition, Alpha Jets come with a 27- or 30-millimeter revolver cannon that can spit out 22 explosive shells a second. Now, even with two extra fuel tanks, an Alpha Jet loaded for battle has an operational radius of only 380 miles and lacks many modern electronic systems. However, Alpha Jets are very cheap and easy to maintain compared to sophisticated jet fighters — and when fighting insurgents hiding in the bush, they are nearly as effective. How cheap? An Alpha Jet requires seven hours of maintenance per flight hour, compared to 19 for an F-16. In 1978, Alpha Jets sold for $4.5 million each — equivalent to $14 million today. Used Alpha Jets are considerably cheaper — one is being advertised right now for $950,000. This has led Alpha Jets to be widely resold to both civilian and military customers. Google even owns one. Most military Alpha Jets have been used in their original intended role —  as jet trainers. The Moroccan air force, however, employed some of theirs in its war against the Polisario rebels in Western Sahara. It’s the Nigerian air force, however, that has made the most combat use of the type. Nigeria reportedly acquired its initial 24 aircraft — nicknamed “A- Jets” — from Germany, but additional aircraft have been acquired over the years. Most of those photographed appear to be the French models.

A Franco-German collaboration France and Germany jointly designed the Alpha Jet in the 1970s to serve as a two-seat jet trainer — the airplane fighter pilots fly and practice firing weapons with before they begin training on combat aircraft. The French Dassault and German Dornier aviation companies were interested in replacing American T-33 jet trainers — adapted Korean War-era F-80 Shooting Stars — with an aircraft of their own manufacture. In the end, the Germans decided they’d rather stick with American trainers — but opted to produce the so-called Alpha Jet as a light ground- attack plane. You can tell the French Alpha-E Jets apart by their more rounded nose, while the German Alpha-As feature a needle-sharp nose accommodating more advanced avionics and sensors, including a Doppler radar navigation system. The Alpha Jet entered service in 1978. Eventually some 480 Alpha Jets were sold to 13 countries. The 93 German Alpha Jets retired in 1997, but the nearly 100 French Alpha Jets continue to serve as jet trainers. The Alpha Jet has a reputation for excellent low-speed handling and being very forgiving for novice pilots  — in fact, the French air force’s only complaint was that it was actually too easy for trainees, who received a nasty shock when they graduated to more difficult-to-handle combat aircraft. The small, lightweight jets — weighing fewer than four tons empty — are known for being highly maneuverable and can fly as fast as 621 miles per hour — faster than a typical airliner, but slower than the speed of sound. They can lug up to 5,500 pounds of munitions on five hardpoints, including precision-guided weapons like Maverick anti-tank missiles or even heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. However, a more typical load would include two SNEB unguided rocket pods, each carrying 18 68-millimeter rockets and two 250 pounds bombs. In addition, Alpha Jets come with a 27- or 30-millimeter revolver cannon that can spit out 22 explosive shells a second. Now, even with two extra fuel tanks, an Alpha Jet loaded for battle has an operational radius of only 380 miles and lacks many modern electronic systems. However, Alpha Jets are very cheap and easy to maintain compared to sophisticated jet fighters — and when fighting insurgents hiding in the bush, they are nearly as effective. How cheap? An Alpha Jet requires seven hours of maintenance per flight hour, compared to 19 for an F-16. In 1978, Alpha Jets sold for $4.5 million each — equivalent to $14 million today. Used Alpha Jets are considerably cheaper — one is being advertised right now for $950,000. This has led Alpha Jets to be widely resold to both civilian and military customers. Google even owns one. Most military Alpha Jets have been used in their original intended role —  as jet trainers. The Moroccan air force, however, employed some of theirs in its war against the Polisario rebels in Western Sahara. It’s the Nigerian air force, however, that has made the most combat use of the type. Nigeria reportedly acquired its initial 24 aircraft — nicknamed “A- Jets” — from Germany, but additional aircraft have been acquired over the years. Most of those photographed appear to be the French models.

Nigeria’s Tiny, Low-Tech Alpha Jets Have Flown in Brutal Wars Across Africa Now the former training jets are blasting Boko Haram by SEBASTIEN ROBLIN On the morning of June 19, 2016, seven Toyota Hilux trucks manned by Boko Haram fighters lay in wait near Daira Noro, Borno State in northeastern Nigeria. Members of a fundamentalist insurgency infamous for its terrorist attacks and kidnappings of young girls, the fighters had recently been chased out of their camps in Sambisa forest by an African multi-national task force. As the African forces advanced north in pursuit, the Boko Haram fighters had prepared a road-side ambush under tree cover. Two of their trucks were armed with heavy machine guns. The distant whine of small airplane engines sounded overhead. An unarmed civilian plane flew by. Then suddenly, a small twin-engine fighter — an Alpha Jet — came screaming over the horizon. Radioed the position of the Boko Haram fighters by the unarmed plane —  actually a King Air 350 surveillance aircraft — the Alpha Jet unleashed a barrage of rockets on the concealed ambush, followed by 250-pound bombs and strafing runs. The Toyotas were all destroyed and the ambush force thrown into chaos. Nigerian ground forces followed close on the heels of the jet and chased off the survivors. They counted 15 bodies and two abandoned rocket-propelled grenades. This incident, as reported by Nigerian air force Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, highlights the role of air power in the struggle against the brutal Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria. In addition to the Alpha Jets, Hind attack helicopters and F-7 fighters —  Chinese-built copies of the MiG-21 —  have taken part in the air campaign. But the Alpha Jets, taken out of near- retirement five years ago, also played in important — and at times controversial — role supporting Nigerian peacekeeping troops in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 1990s. This is the story of how a diminutive jet trainer made its mark on West Africa.

Nigeria’s Tiny, Low-Tech Alpha Jets Have Flown in Brutal Wars Across Africa Now the former training jets are blasting Boko Haram by SEBASTIEN ROBLIN On the morning of June 19, 2016, seven Toyota Hilux trucks manned by Boko Haram fighters lay in wait near Daira Noro, Borno State in northeastern Nigeria. Members of a fundamentalist insurgency infamous for its terrorist attacks and kidnappings of young girls, the fighters had recently been chased out of their camps in Sambisa forest by an African multi-national task force. As the African forces advanced north in pursuit, the Boko Haram fighters had prepared a road-side ambush under tree cover. Two of their trucks were armed with heavy machine guns. The distant whine of small airplane engines sounded overhead. An unarmed civilian plane flew by. Then suddenly, a small twin-engine fighter — an Alpha Jet — came screaming over the horizon. Radioed the position of the Boko Haram fighters by the unarmed plane —  actually a King Air 350 surveillance aircraft — the Alpha Jet unleashed a barrage of rockets on the concealed ambush, followed by 250-pound bombs and strafing runs. The Toyotas were all destroyed and the ambush force thrown into chaos. Nigerian ground forces followed close on the heels of the jet and chased off the survivors. They counted 15 bodies and two abandoned rocket-propelled grenades. This incident, as reported by Nigerian air force Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, highlights the role of air power in the struggle against the brutal Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria. In addition to the Alpha Jets, Hind attack helicopters and F-7 fighters —  Chinese-built copies of the MiG-21 —  have taken part in the air campaign. But the Alpha Jets, taken out of near- retirement five years ago, also played in important — and at times controversial — role supporting Nigerian peacekeeping troops in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 1990s. This is the story of how a diminutive jet trainer made its mark on West Africa.

Regional armies struggle in last push against Boko Haram By Joe Bavier | DIFFA, NIGER (Reuters) - "You'll all be able to go home soon. Boko Haram is nearly finished," Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum told a crowd of refugees seated quietly on dusty, sun-baked flats. His words of optimism were belied by the dozens- strong security detail required to protect him as he toured his country's southern border. Seven years into an insurgency that spread from Nigeria into Chad, Niger and Cameroon, regional armies are now in a final push to defeat Boko Haram, a once obscure Islamist sect turned deadly militant group. But lingering divisions in the countries' multi- national joint task force (MNJTF) are complicating that mission. "If there's no strategy to attack Boko Haram together, we won't ever finish with them," Mahamadou Liman Ali, an opposition lawmaker from southern Niger, told Reuters in Niamey. At a time when the world's wealthy nations are focused on the fight against Islamic State and al Qaeda, financial support for the MNJTF's efforts against Boko Haram, which has pledged its allegiance to IS, have fallen short of targets. That has left the task force's members - including Chad, the region's capable but increasingly reluctant military powerhouse - to shoulder the bulk of the costs of fighting the group. Boko Haram's victims, which include 2.4 million displaced, live in hope that this month-old offensive - dubbed Operation Gama Aiki, or "finish the job" in the local Hausa language - might succeed where others have failed. Some have doubts. From where he stays in southern Niger, refugee Usman Kanimbu sees smoke rising from the coalition's air strikes on insurgent positions in Nigeria, the home he fled. "We've fled eight times. Each time we arrive somewhere Boko Haram attacks again. We would keep running, but we can't afford to anymore," he said. "I'm not sure this will ever end." FRAGILE PROGRESS As the sun sets over the Nigerian border, a featureless expanse of sand and scrub trees, soldiers from Niger peered over an earthen bern at territory held by Boko Haram. The skies above the borderlands now rumble daily with the sound of fighter jets. Chadian troops have ventured onto Lake Chad, a Boko Haram stronghold. Regional military officers say they are taking back ground from the insurgents. The task force may indeed be making headway against Boko Haram, which has fewer footholds than it once did. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau, may even be dead. But the MNJTF is a far cry from what it was conceived to be, a dedicated 8,700-strong force blending soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin. Instead, the nations rely on their own armies to deal with Boko Haram threats. Troops from Chad, which has the region's strongest military, reinforce when needed then head back home. "Each force is based in its country of origin. There's no integrated force with battalions moving in perfect coordination," said Vincent Foucher, West Africa researcher at International Crisis Group (ICG). ADVERTISEMENT The need for operational integration in the fight against an enemy that knows no borders was exposed during a similar regional offensive early last year. After troops from Chad and Niger drove Boko Haram from a string of towns in Nigeria's far north, they waited in vain for the Nigerian army to arrive and hold them. "We were there for three or four months, but the Nigerian troops that were meant to take over from us were not ready," Niger's Brigadier General Abdou Sidikou Issa told Reuters. Niger and Chad withdrew, according to a source with knowledge of the operation, because they feared becoming an occupying force. Issa said the troops were overstretched logistically, however. Either way, the vacuum they left allowed Boko Haram to reclaim positions and carry on cross- border raids. "That's what's created problems for us again today," Issa said. The MNJTF was meant to prevent a repeat of those kinds of incidents. The African Union endorsed the force in January 2015 and a headquarters was established in Chad's capital N'Djamena to coordinate forces against the ever-evolving threat of Boko Haram. The AU has struggled to rally contributors to foot the bill for the MNJTF's $700 million budget, however. Donors, led by Nigeria and France, pledged $250 million in February, just over a third of what was needed, but dispersal has been slow. The United States has also aided with intelligence and training. A senior MNJTF officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak, told Reuters the money received so far was so little that it only had covered the cost of 11 vehicles and some radio equipment, with the individual armies bearing the rest of the costs. "There are all these declarations of intentions, but, in concrete terms, nothing has been done yet," he said. A spokesman for the MNJTF did not respond to a request for comment. "HURTING" A Boko Haram attack last month on Bosso, in southeastern Niger, which killed 32 soldiers and a number of civilians, was the kind of incident the MNJTF was created for. But rather than the multinational force kicking into action as it is supposed to, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou had to fly to N'Djamena to lobby neighbor Chad for help. Having played a lead role along with France in a 2013 intervention in Mali to drive back jihadist groups there, Chad's President Idriss Deby has become indispensable in the fight against West African Islamists. But with low oil prices now causing Deby economic headaches at home and little direct financial support coming from his allies, analysts say he has grown resentful. Two weeks after President Issoufou's visit, Reuters visited a half-finished hotel complex in the southern Niger city of Diffa that had been fully booked out by the Chadian army. The Chadians were nowhere to be seen. Dozens of bungalows sat empty. It would take more than a month for them to arrive. Excluding its oil sector, after 7 percent growth in 2014, Chad's economy contracted by 1.5 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Oil output rose to record levels, but low prices meant revenues dipped. "This is costing (Deby) a lot of money. There's a big budget crisis ... He's definitely hurting," said Nathaniel Powell, a researcher with the Swiss- based Fondation Pierre du Bois. A Chadian government official did not respond to a request for comment. Niger's tiny army - 15,000 troops to cover 1.2 million square kilometers (463,300 square miles) of territory - is overstretched by Boko Haram, but also by the overflow of unrelated Islamist violence from Mali to its west. Cameroon has meanwhile deployed thousands of troops, including special forces, to its north to secure its own territory against a suicide bombing campaign. And while Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has shown more willingness than his predecessor to take on the insurgents, decades of graft have hollowed out his military and it now faces resurgent militancy in the oil-producing Niger Delta. The senior MNJTF officer said the regional neighbors would continue to improve the force. In the meantime, they had no other choice than to act. "If we wait, Boko Haram isn't going to wait for us, are they?" he said. (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in Dakar and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos; Editing by Tim Cocks, Janet McBride)

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