Kenya Army MD-500 Delivered

The Kenya Defence Forces received surplus MD 500 Defender light helicopters donated by South Korea at a ceremony at the Kenya Army headquarters in Embakasi, Nairobi, on 23 October 2026. South Korean media reported that all eight aircraft, formerly operated by the South Korean military, were handed over; Janes counted at least five in imagery of the event and gives the figure as believed to be eight. The helicopters were shipped to the United States in December 2023 for an overhaul funded by Washington, which installed new digital systems and trained Kenyan pilots and technicians, and reached Kenya in September 2026. The donation stems from a 2021 pledge made at the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Seoul. They join the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation alongside its MD 530Fs.