By Frank Kamuntu
Kenya is set to receive 16 U.S.-manufactured helicopters to boost the country’s security operations and peacekeeping missions.
This is part of the goodies advanced to Kenya by President Joe Biden’s administration following the State visit by President William Ruto to Washington.
According to a statement released by the White House on Thursday, the 16 helicopters include eight Hueys to bolster regional peace and security as well as eight MD-500s for enhancing Kenya’s participation in peacekeeping missions.
The aircraft are expected to arrive in Nairobi between late 2024 and 2025, according to the White House.
Kenya will also receive approximately 150 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles from the U.S. Excess Defense Article stocks which are projected to arrive in Kenya in September 2024.
In a bid to fortify collaboration on counterterrorism, the two nations have pledged to deepen their information-sharing efforts. Kenya is also in the process of joining Operation Gallant Phoenix, a program facilitating multinational cooperation in sharing terrorist-related information.
“Additionally, Kenya is in the process of joining Operation Gallant Phoenix, a program that advances multinational collaboration and sharing of terrorist information to build mutual capacity to collect and use battlefield evidence in civilian criminal justice proceedings in a multiagency, multinational setting. These initiatives should help both countries better protect our borders and our citizens from terrorist actors.
As part of deepening a legacy of military training and capacity building between the two countries, in the summer of 2024, for the first time, the Kenya Defence Forces will have candidates starting courses at the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
This, according to the White House, will go a long way in building on a long tradition of the majority of Kenyan general officers benefitting from U.S. International Military Education Training courses.
“The U.S. military currently has seven advisors in Kenya supporting Kenyan aviators and for the first time, the United States is providing a Strategic Logistics Advisor to Kenya’s Ministry of Defence,” said the White House.
