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Ethiopia's Air Force Praised as Example for Others

Established in 1929, the Ethiopian Air Force, a source of national pride for the East African nation, would have been 94 years old in 2023. However, due to calendar discrepancies, Ethiopia, currently in the year 2016, considers its air force to be younger, having recently celebrated its 88th anniversary over the weekend.
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African defense officials attended an air show in Addis Ababa on Sunday to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Ethiopian Air Force and were impressed by the skills of local pilots and the country's fleet.
"We are very happy and impressed; we see the commitment and professionalism of Ethiopian Air defense forces," Senegal Defense Attache in Addis Ababa, Mamadou Fall, told local media.
He added that Ethiopia is Africa's leading air force and will contribute immensely to peace and security on the continent as the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces.
"We know all these capabilities and Ethiopians will use it for peace. This capacity will help Ethiopia to deepen its growth," Fall remarked.
The airshow was held with the participation of pilots from the United Arab Emirates, which has "friendly" relations with Addis Ababa based on "brotherhood and trust," as noted by the Commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, Yilma Merdasa.
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Jok Angok, South Sudan's Defense Attache, noted the "very high" core values, professionalism and tactics of the Ethiopian pilots, emphasizing that it is important for African nations to adopt the experience.
"It’s really very fantastic and we appreciate this cooperation and collaboration between Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates; it needs to actually indicate that the rest of African countries should emulate and participate in such kind of collaborative exercises," he pointed out.
Commander Merdasa emphasized that the technology with which the Ethiopian Air Force is equipped indicates the possibility of achieving the goal of becoming the leading air force institution in Africa by 2030.