A Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet deployed to fight Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province has gone missing in Borno State.

Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, NAF spokesman, said the Alpha Jet lost radar contact on Wednesday evening, but did not disclose the number of officers onboard the yet-to-be-found jet.

Gabkwet said though the whereabouts of the attack jet was unknown as of the time of filing this report, search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

The statement titled, ‘Nigerian Air Force Alpha-Jet Loses Radar Contact’, read, “A Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet has lost contact with radar in Borno State, while on interdiction mission in support of ground troops. The mission was part of the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the North East. The loss of radar contact occurred at about 5:08 pm on 31 March 2021.

“Details of the whereabout of the aircraft or likely cause of contact loss are still sketchy but will be relayed to the general public as soon as they become clear. Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts are ongoing”, he said.

A radar system, according to Wikipedia, is used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the terminal area and the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace around airports.

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