S. Korea donates 8 retired military helicopters to Kenya

South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military helicopters to Kenya after an overhaul, delivering on its pledge to support the U.N. peacekeeping missions in the region, officials said Friday.

A ceremony marking the donation of the eight MD 500 Defenders was held at the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation in Nairobi on Friday (local time), according to the defense ministry.

The move comes as South Korea pledged to provide choppers to the U.N. peacekeeping operations across Africa during the U.N. peacekeeping ministerial meeting held in Seoul in 2021. The United States vowed to conduct maintenance work on the helicopters and help transport them to the East African country.

Since late 2023, eight MD 500 Defenders have been transported to the US, where they underwent maintenance and repair work for about two years.

The upgraded choppers arrived in Kenya last month, pending deployment after successfully completing all flight tests, according to officials.

The defense ministry plans to continue to expand its contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Friday's event was attended by some 200 personnel, including defense officials of South Korea, the US and Kenya, along with local diplomatic corps, among others.