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The first batch of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft have departed the United States of America en route Nigeria, the Nigerian Air Force(NAF) has said.
NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the fighter jets departed from the US on Wednesday and are expected in Nigeria anytime soon.
The statement read in part: “The six 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.
“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 202, 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 statement said.
Recall that the Federal Government in February 2018 placed an order for 12 Super Tucano aircraft at a cost of $496 million. Several delivery dates have been announced for the aircraft before Thursday’s announcement.
The fighter jets are expected to boost the operations of the military in its anti-terrorism war against Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province, in Nigeria’s North East.