The Presidency says six of the Super Tucano military war jets ordered by Nigeria would arrive the country in the next four months.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu disclosed this in a statement he issued on Thursday.
He said already, 14 pilots are being trained to man the aircrafts.
He said: “Six of the twelve 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.
“The Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville Florida and are now being equipped and flight tested. 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.
“At present, five Nigerian Super Tucanos are at Moody AFB in Georgia for pilot and maintainer training. The two companies released images of the sixth aircraft, which also will be flown to Moody, in a jungle camouflage scheme.
“The painted jungle scheme NAF A-29 now moves on to mission modification at Moody Air Force Base,” says SNC. “Following modification, before delivery, NAF pilots and maintenance personnel will further train in the aircraft.”
He adds that in November 2018, SNC was awarded a $329 million Foreign Military Sales contract from the US government to build 12 A-29s for the Nigerian air force and that the armed turboprops are intended for use against Boko Haram and the acclaimed Islamic State militants.
Lateefah Ibrahim
