Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday announced that the government would buy eight new aircraft by next year. He said the planes would be made up of two light aircraft, four helicopters, one 50-seater aircraft and an Embraer 190 jet from Brazil. Vice President Mahama said this when he inaugurated a 16-seater Falcon 900 EX EASY Presidential jet at the Air Force Base. The aircraft, which was manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France, would replace the Fokker 28 Presidential Jet which is more than 30 years old. He commended the French Ambassador, the Minister of Defence and the Societe Generale Bank of France for their collaboration to ensure a smooth acquisition of the aircraft. Lt-Gen J.H Smith (Rtd), the Minister of Defence, said both the past and current governments had been instrumental in acquiring the plane adding “this plane goes beyond political party consideration as both the past and present administrations worked hard to acquire it.” He appealed to personnel of the Ghana Air Force to justify the investment made in acquiring the plane by constantly maintaining it for future generations. Source: GNA