Nigerian Air Force reveals procurement plans

The first two of six T129s ordered by the NAF were induscted February 2024. (Nigerian Air Force)

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is planning to acquire 12 Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and another six T129 attack helicopters, according to an infographic it released on 25 October to mark Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke's first year as chief of the air staff.

The TUSAŞ aircraft were on a list titled “additional expected aircraft” that included the 24 Leonardo M-346 light combat jets, 12 Bell AH-1Z attack helicopters, and seven Leonardo AW109 Trekker helicopters (in addition to three recently delivered ones) that are currently being built for the NAF.

None of these aircraft have arrived in Nigeria yet, indicating the NAF was referring to six additional T129 attack helicopters, not the six that were delivered from February 2024.

It was unclear if orders have been placed for the Aksungurs and T129s as the list also included other aircraft procurements that the NAF has not previously announced, including three Airbus C295 transport aircraft, an Airbus H225 helicopter, and two Chinese CH-4D UAVs.

The NAF said in 2023 that it intended to buy two C295s but an order was never confirmed. The NAF again said a C295 acquisition was under consideration when Air Marshal Aneke visited Airbus's Spanish facilities in March.

The infographic also noted that six L-39ZA aircraft are being reactivated and upgraded with new avionics, with the work on three being carried out in Slovakia by Letecké opravovne Trenčín (LOTN) and the other three in Kano.

For more, please see: Nigeria accepts first M-346FA light combat aircraft