SEOUL: South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military helicopters to Kenya after an overhaul, fulfilling its pledge to support United Nations peacekeeping missions in the region, officials said on Friday.
A ceremony marking the donation of the eight MD 500 Defender helicopters was held at the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation in Nairobi on Friday (local time), according to South Korea's Defence Ministry.
The donation follows South Korea's pledge to provide helicopters for UN peacekeeping operations across Africa during a UN peacekeeping ministerial meeting held in Seoul in 2021. The United States had pledged to carry out maintenance work on the helicopters and help transport them to the East African country.
Since late 2023, the eight MD 500 Defenders have been transported to the US, where they underwent maintenance and repairs for about two years.
The upgraded helicopters arrived in Kenya last month and are awaiting deployment after successfully completing all flight tests, officials said.
The Defence Ministry plans to continue expanding South Korea's contributions to UN peacekeeping missions.
About 200 personnel attended Friday's ceremony, including defence officials from South Korea, the US and Kenya, as well as members of the local diplomatic corps, among others. - Korea Herald/ANN
