According to Premium Times, Commander of the Nigerian Air Force Hassan Abubakar paid a one-day visit to the 115 Special Operation Group (SOG) at Port Harcourt on 23 August and said that the U.S. and Türkiye would soon deliver 18 attack helicopters to Nigeria.
It stated that the U.S. would supply 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters. At the same time, Turkiye will provide six attack helicopters.
The U.S. stopped selling weapons to this oil-rich country in 2014 with the claim that Nigeria had committed human rights violations by waging a civil war against Boko Haram.
However, arms sales resumed two years later in 2016.
Earlier last year, the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters to Nigeria for nearly $1 billion. This followed a decision by the U.S. Parliament which withdrew Nigeria's objections to human rights issues.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the sale of helicopters and related defence systems to the Nigerian military.
The sale includes 12 Bell AH-1Z helicopters, 28 General Electric T700-401C engines, 2,000 Advanced Precision Killing Weapon Systems, night vision systems, and targeting and navigation systems.
The Turkish Aerospace helicopters, T129 Atak, are twin-engine, tandem-seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopters. Six T129 ATAK helicopters will be delivered to Nigeria in September 2023, following the Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement between Turkiye and Nigeria, signed in October 2021 during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit.
