International
Boko Haram: U.S agrees to sell attack aircraft to Nigeria
Seems the days of the Boko Haram terrorist sect are truly numbered as the United States has agreed to sell about 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria to aid the war against the terror sect.
There are also reports that the U.S will also provide training to Nigerian infantry forces, and share more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to the campaign against terrorists in the region.
The planned sale of the aircraft is however subject to review by Congress.
Reuters quoted anonymous US officials as saying “The Buhari administration I think has really reenergized the bilateral relationship in a fundamental way”.
The officials said the plan in a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the country’s corruption-tainted military.
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“Buhari made clear from the get-go that his number one priority was reforming the military to defeat Boko Haram … And he sees us as part of that solution,” a second U.S. official said.
U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael Franken, a deputy commander of the Pentagon’s Africa Command, told a Washington forum last week that there now are 6,200 U.S. troops – most of them Special Operations Forces – operating from 26 locations in Africa.
The new agreement on US military cooperation is seen as a political victory for Buhari, whose administration has increasingly reduced the impact, and canage of the Boko Haram terrorist sect in the country.
The Tucanos can be used for training, surveillance or attack, and can be armed with two wing-mounted machine guns and can carry up to 1,550 Kg (3,417 pounds) of weapons.
The sale could offer Nigeria a more maneuverable aircraft that can stay aloft for extended periods to target Boko Haram formations.
The U.S. officials did not disclose the cost of the planes to be sold to Nigeria.
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