How to Join Nigerian Air Force & Become a Military Pilot in Nigeria..Requirements, Application Form & Step By Step Guide

How to Join Nigerian Air Force & Become a Military Pilot in Nigeria..Requirements, Application Form & Step By Step Guide

The Nigerian Air Force is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces and is responsible for protecting the Nigerian Airspace. It is also sometimes involved in ground combat operations such as has to do with the Boko Haram insurgency the North Eastern part of the country which you can see if you read Nigerian Air Force News today. In order to replace retired officers and keep the force going, officers are recruited yearly into commissioned officers cadre and this is done either by commissioning graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) or by recruiting graduates of conventional Nigerian Universities through the Direct Short Service Commission. The commissioned officers play different roles in the Air Force. Some are posted to Administration, some Finance, Engineering and the rest depending on their fields of specialization. In this article, we will be looking at how to join the Air Force as a graduate and become a Pilot.

How to apply to Nigerian Air Force

Application is usually done online using an application portal that will be provided when the form is released. Although the application form has not been released, it is usually released after the NAF recruitment form has been released and the information will be made available on Nigerian Air Force website airforce.mil.ng when the time comes so you can be checking to make sure you don’t miss anything.

For applicants with professional qualifications, the following guidelines apply when putting in an application.

1. Such candidates must have a degree of not lower than Second Class Upper or a HND not less than Upper Credit and will have an upper hand if computer literates.
2. They must be fully registered with their relevant professional bodies and must present evidence of the registration during the enlistment screening.
3. Zonal enlistment exercises take place in centres all over the country and the candidates will be required to choose one of the following centres:
4. Nigerian Air Force Base, Makurdi
5. Nigerian Air Force Base, Bauchi

• Sam Ethan Air Force Base, Ikeja in Lagos
• 113 Helicopter Combat Training Group, Enugu
• 115 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt
• Nigerian Air Force Base, Kaduna

The application is free of charge and applicants are to bring the following to the enlistment centres of their choice.

1. Birth certificate/declaration of age
2. Original certificates obtained and NYSC discharge certificate/exemption letter.
3. Letter of attestation of character
4. Local Government Indigene certificate
5. Acknowledgement card
6. Writing materials

Photocopies of all documents and credentials which will be collected from you at your enlistment centre.

After you complete your online registration, you should print the following except if you are a serving military personnel.

1. Attestation form
2. Acknowledgement card

If you provide any false information and you are caught you will be disqualified and you may be prosecuted so make sure every information you provide is accurate and all your certificates are truly yours.

Requirements To Join The Nigerian Air Force

You will be required to meet the following requirements before you are qualified to apply online.

1. To apply, you must be a citizen of Nigeria.
2. Your age must not be below 22 and not more than 28.
3. You must have evidence of medical and physical fitness.
4. Male applicants should not be less than 1.68m in height while females must be at least 1.65m tall.
5. You must have no history of criminal conviction by any competent court of law in the country
6. You must have graduated with a degree not lower than lower second class or a HND not lower than a lower credit.
7. You must have completed the mandatory National Youth Service with a certificate or possess a letter of exemption.
8. You must have a birth certificate or a court affidavit as evidence of your date of birth.
9. You have to provide an evidence of indigeneship from your state of origin.
10. Two letters of recommendation must be produced from highly placed people in society which may be a military officer with the minimum rank of a Group Captain or your local government chairman or secretary.
11. For serving Air Force personnel looking to be commissioned, your commander will have to write letter to attest for your character and you must have a valid Air Force ID card.

In order to become a pilot in the Nigerian Air Force, you need to possess a B.Sc in Physics, Mathematics, Geography or a B.Eng in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering which will help you to be easily trained as a pilot in one of the Air Force Flying Training Schools in the country.

Nigerian Air Force ranks and salary

If you are interested in applying for Nigerian Air Force DSSC recruitment, definitely you will be curious about how much Air Force Officers earn. I will give you a breakdown of the ranks and monthly salaries of commissioned officers of the Air Force here so that you can have a feel of what to expect. The following are the ranks of Nigerian Air Force in descending order of seniority.

1. Marshal of the Nigerian Air Force
2. Air Chief Marshal
3. Air Marshal
4. Air Vice-Marshal
5. Air Commodore
6. Group Captain
7. Wing Commander
8. Squadron Leader
9. Flight Lieutenant
10. Flying Officer
11. Pilot Officer
12. Air Warrant Officer
13. Master Warrant Officer
14. Warrant Officer
15. Flight Sergeant
16. Sergeant
17. Corporal
18. Lance Corporal
19. Aircraftman/woman
20. Trainee

The following are the ranks of the Nigerian Air Force and their monthly salaries in ascending order of seniority.

1. Trainee: This is an Air Man/Woman in training. He is paid ₦10,237 monthly as allowance.
2. This is lowest rank in the Air Force and Trainees after completion of training are placed in this rank. A person of this ranks earns ₦53,892 monthly as salary.
3. Lance Corporal: this is the rank above Air Man/Woman. A Lance Corporal earns ₦55,832 as monthly salary.
4. Corporal: Immediately above the rank of Lance Corporal is the rank of Corporal. This personnel earns ₦58,634 monthly as his salary.
5. Sergeant: Sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank. It is next to flight Sergeant and he has a monthly salary of ₦69,261.
6. Flight Sergeant: this is another senior non-commissioned rank and Flight Sergeants earn a monthly salary of ₦87,119.
7. Warrant Officer: Is the second highest non-commissioned rank of the Air Force. A Warrant Officer earns ₦101,974 monthly as salary.
8. Master Warrant Officer: this is the highest non-commissioned rank and the highest attainable by any non-commissioned personnel of the Nigerian Air Force. a personnel of this rank earns monthly salary of ₦165,697.
9. Officer Cadet: This is a commissioned officer in training either at the Nigerian Defence Academy or during the Direct Short Service Course for graduates of conventional Nigerian universities. They are paid ₦44,564 as monthly allowance.
10. Pilot Officer: this is the lowest rank of the commissioned officers which graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy are commissioned into. An officer of this rank earns₦187,000.

1. Flying Officer: this is the rank senior to that of pilot Officer. As a graduate that is recruited through Direct Short Service, you will be placed on this rank and your estimated monthly salary is₦218,000.
2. Flight Lieutenant: this is the third lowest rank in the Air Force senior to Flying Officer. A Flight Lieutenant earns a monthly salary of ₦232,000.
3. Squadron Leader: this is a senior officer of the rank equivalent to that of Major in the Army. A Squadron Leader has an estimated monthly salary of ₦248,000.
4. Wing Commander: this is another senior rank that is equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the army. This senior officer receives a monthly salary of₦342,000.
5. Group Captain: this is a senior officer rank equivalent to the rank of Colonel. He is a high ranking officer just below the “General” ranks of the force. He earns an estimated salary of ₦352,000 per month.
6. Air Commodore: this is a senior rank of the Air Force corresponding to the rank of Brigadier General in the army. The Air Commodore has a monthly salary of ₦678,000.
7. Air Vice-Marshal: this is a very high rank equivalent to Major General. Officers of this rank earn ₦1,376,000 per month.
8. Air Marshal this is the second highest rank in the Air Force just next to the rank of Air Chief Marshal. Most officers retire at this stage as the highest attained rank. An Air Marshal earns a monthly salary of ₦1,486,000.
9. Air Chief Marshal: This is the highest rank in the Air Force and so the officer earns the highest monthly salary of ₦1,724,000.

All the information required to become a pilot in the Nigerian Air Force has been provided above. If you know any other information that is not included you can include it in the comment box for the use of others and if you have questions you can ask too and we will reply you as best as we can.Thanks for reading and good luck with your applications.