Nigeria will be take delivery of six of the 12 Super Tucano fighter aircraft earlier ordered from the United States by the Nigerian government in July this year.
A statement by presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said on Thursday in Abuja that “six of the 12 Super Tucanos are on track to arrive in mid-July 2021. With the remaining six shortly after that. There are 14 Nigerian pilots currently training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.”
According to the statement, the Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville Florida and are now being equipped and flight tested.
It added that “Nigerian pilots and maintenance personnel are training on these planes. Currently, the construction is ongoing, which will house the aircraft.
“The Air-Ground-Integration school is the training hub on targeting and minimization of civilian casualties.”
The Nigerian government had in 2018 placed an order for 12 Super Tucano aircraft at a cost of $496 million to aid its war against insurgency.
GIK/APA