Nigerian Air Force to get 12 A-29 Super Tucano for $600 million

A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale of A-29 Super Tucano would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support the ongoing insurgency war.”

The Super Tucano is expected to replace the venerable Dassault Alpha Jets used by the Nigerian Air Force. The Alpha Jets has carried out the bulk of the ground attack raids against the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT).

It said after more than 10 years in action, the super tucano has gained an excellent performance record with over 230,000 flight hours and 30,000 combat hours.According to the company, the A-29 super tucano is currently used by 10 air forces.

Although the Nigerian acquisition of the aircraft is a welcome development but not at such exorbitant price. Comparably, the US Government bought 20 units of the A-29 Super Tucano for about $420 million which includes provision for pilot training and support. To put things in perspective, The U.S Government acquired the Super Tucano for a unit price of just $21 million dollars.