Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea handed over eight refurbished, decommissioned MD 500 Defender helicopters to Kenya at a ceremony on Friday for U.N. peacekeeping operations in Africa, fulfilling a pledge made at a 2021 meeting in Seoul.
The pledge came during a U.N. peacekeeping ministerial meeting. Yonhap also reported that the United States agreed to maintain the aircraft and arrange their transport to Kenya.
South Korea’s defense ministry said the helicopters reached Kenya in September after about two years of repair and refurbishment work in the United States. Officials said the aircraft passed flight tests and are awaiting deployment.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, welcomed the handover in a post on X. He said the helicopters would “enhance UN Peacekeeping’s air mobility.” About 200 people, including defense officials from South Korea, the United States and Kenya, attended the Nairobi ceremony, Yonhap reported.
