ISLAMABAD – Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff of theNigerian Air Force (NAF), confirmed on 15 February that the air force willreceive an unspecified number of JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter aircraftin November 2020.
The aircraft are constructed by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC)alongside the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
Abubakar also noted that negotiations to procure Embraer A-29 Super Tucanosare ongoing, with an undisclosed number expected to enter into service withthe NAF by 2022.
The new NAF aircraft are expected to be used in COIN operations.
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Nigeria faces security threats from armed bandit groups as well as theIslamist terror group Boko Haram, which has waged a decade-long insurgencyin the north of the country.
Abubakar confirmed that the NAF’s aircraft serviceability rate hasincreased from 35% in July 2015 to 82% by February 2020.
