Home News Nigeria receives first six light attack planes from United States

Nigeria receives first six light attack planes from United States

493
0

Nigeria’s air force announced on Thursday that it has received its first six A-29 Super Tucano jets, four years after the US agreed to supply the West African country the light attack aircraft to combat terrorists.

Nigeria is grappling with escalating instability, which includes mass school abductions in the northwest, Islamist insurgencies in the northeast, and ransom kidnappings and violent robberies across the country.

The jets, the first part of a 12-plane order, arrived in Kano, Nigeria, on Thursday, according to the air force.

In 2017, the US agreed to sell the jets to Nigeria under then-President Donald Trump, reviving a contract that had been put on hold by the Obama administration after the Nigerian Air Force bombed a refugee camp.

The $593 million aircraft order included tens of thousands of bombs, rockets, and a service agreement.

The propeller-driven planes, which are capable of reconnaissance, surveillance, and attack, were developed in Florida by a joint venture between Brazil’s Embraer (EMBR3.SA) and the privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here