The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) received the first six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft out of 12 on order from the United States. The aircrafts were received in the northern city of Kano Defense ministry and NAF officials after a week-long trip from the US.
The remaining six Super Tucanos will be delivered before the end of October 2021.
The $593-million deal was initially unveiled in May 2016 under former US president Barack Obama but was frozen after the Nigerian military accidentally bombed a camp for people displaced by jihadist conflict in the northeast, killing 112 civilians. Also, the four-year period between order and delivery has been partly due to the challenges of configuring the aircraft to meet NAF specifications.
Two different options of camouflage are being used on the Super Tucanos; light desert camouflage and darker forest/jungle. Two of the six have been delivered in the jungle and the other four in desert camouflage.
The Nigerian Super Tucano will be armed with Paveway II guided bombs and laser-guided rockets that will give the Nigerian military an edge in fighting both Boko Haram and ISWAP; groups that have been terrorizing the country. Nigeria has been consistently revamping and adding to the military’s weapons catalog as the ever-changing threat posed by the Jihadist groups continue to grow and wreak havoc.
