FG closing in on a deal with Trump for the purchase of 10 Fighter Jets at $600m
Indications are beginning to emerge that President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group Boko Haram.
Sources said the Super Tucano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities is made by Brazil’s Embraer is among the main targets of the federal government in the deal.
Also, another production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada.
Experts say the approximate sum of the 10 to 12 fighter jets is close to $600 million.
Business Hilights gathered that former President Barack Obama’s administration had agreed on the sale, but was annoyed after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.
However, Trump administration wants to push ahead to boost Nigeria’s efforts to fight Boko Haram and bolster hiring in the United States by defence firms.
A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support … the ongoing insurgency war.”
In March, the Trump administration informed Congress of its plans to pursue a five billion dollars sale to Bahrain of Lockheed Martin F-16s and related equipment, which had been held up under Obama when Bahrain failed to meet human rights targets.
Reuters first reported the Obama administration’s plan to sell the Embraer aircraft to Nigeria in May 2016, as a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the military.
The Super Tucano costs more than $10m each and the price can go much higher depending on the configuration.
It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT six engine.
Trump’s plan to move ahead with the Nigerian sale was first reported by the Associated Press.
