By Jose Kabale
Kampala
Police's decision to dispose of the fixed wing Paggio Avanti II Evo which belongs to its Airwing support unit.
The aircraft which was obtained in June 2019 at a cost of USD 7.840.000USD about 7.85b Uganda Shillings was procured for purposes of aerial patrols, search and rescue missions, rapid response and troop transportation, aerial surveillance for pirates and other criminal elements, aerial assault, insertion and extraction, VIP transportation, medevac and cesevac.(Evacuation of causalities to the hospital) among others.
According to a statement issued at the Police website, the institution police spokesperson stated that one of the reasons that compelled the decision is that the plane was made strictly for tarmacked runways, undergoes insurance and AMO without return benefits, undergoes mandatory expensive inspections and the aircraft parts are very expensive given the nature and category of luxury.
Police intends to replace the aircraft with a new compatible helicopter which will provide the police airwing with an additional operational and effective Crime fighting mechanism.
According to police, the composite Board of Survey inspected the aircraft on October 19, 2022, and agreed on USD 4,271,709 {4.2b UgShs}.
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