Kenya will receive 16 refurbished US-manufactured helicopters to enhance its military capabilities, the White House has announced.
In a statement on Thursday, May 23, the White House said the 16 choppers which include 8 Hueys and 8 MD-500s will arrive in Kenya between late 2024 and mid 2025.
“Kenya is scheduled to receive 16 U.S.-manufactured helicopters between late 2024 and summer 2025 to bolster its ability to provide regional peace and security (8 Hueys) and participate in peacekeeping missions (8 MD-500s),” read the statement in part.
At the same time, Kenya will 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.
“Kenya has one of the largest U.S. Foreign Military Sales portfolios in Africa. Kenya selected approximately 150 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles from U.S. Excess Defense Article stocks, which are projected to arrive in Kenya in September 2024,” White House stated.
Kenya is also in the process of joining Operation Gallant Phoenix, a program facilitating multinational cooperation in sharing terrorist-related information to build mutual capacity to collect and use battlefield evidence in civilian criminal justice proceedings in a multiagency, multinational setting.
White House further announced that 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, building on a long tradition of the majority of Kenyan general officers benefitting from U.S.
“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. Kenya’s U.S.-trained Disaster Response Battalion has also been involved in recent search and rescue operations in response to recent flooding in Kenya,” White House added.
