By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The fight against insurgency received a boost on Thursday as Nigeria took delivery of the first batch of the 12 super Tucano fighter aircraft earlier ordered by the Federal Government.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet said in a press release that the aircrafts arrived Kano at about 12.34pm.
He said the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao were on hand to receive them.
The Federal Government in November 2018 awarded a $329 million Foreign Military Sales contract to SNC by the United States government to build 12 A-29s for the Nigerian air force.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, through a series of tweet posts on his official Twitter handle on Thursday, March 18, 2021 stated that the armed Super Tucanos are intended for use against terrorist groups, the Boko Haram and Islamic State militants.
The Super Tucano Aircraft, which has been described as devastatingly effective against covert insurgents, was approved for sale to the Nigerian Government by the Trump-led US administration to support Nigerian military operations against terrorist organizations, Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa and Nigeria’s efforts to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
