The fight against insecurity in Nigeria is poised to be boosted as Nigerian Air Force (NAF) announced the departure of the first batch of six (6) A-29 Super Tucano aircrafts from the United States of America on Wednesday, 14 July, 2021 enroute Nigeria.
In a press release signed by the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet and sent to Security Watch Africa, the NAF Spokesperson states “The 6 aircraft will be leapfrogged through 5 countries including Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Algeria before arriving their final destination in Nigeria towards the end of July 2021”.
The release continues, “An official induction ceremony of the aircraft into the inventory of the Nigerian Air Force is already being planned at a later date in August 2021 to be announced in due course.
“The Office of the Director of Public Relations and Information remains open to any inquiry regarding the arrival and induction of the aircraft”, the release concludes.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has been seeking permission from the United States of America (USA) government to buy A-29 Super Tucano Aircrafts since 2015 to boost the war against terrorism which the President Barack Obama administration had put the sale on hold.
In April 2017, a formal approval was given by the USA government under President Donald Trump and the journey for the acquisition of these game-changing fighter aircrafts began.