Insecurity: 6 Super Tucanos to arrive Nigeria in July – Presidency

The Presidency, on Thursday, disclosed that six of the twelve Super Tucanos aircraft earlier ordered by the Federal Government to arrive the country in mid-July, 2021.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu announced this in a statement tagged, ‘Nigeria’s Super Tucanos To Arrive Mid-July, 2021’.

Shehu further said that the remaining six would arrive soon after. He added that, at present, 14 Nigerian Pilots, who would handle the Tucanos, are presently going through training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

The statement read, “The Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville, Florida and are now being equipped and flight tested.

“Nigerian pilots and maintenance personnel are training on these planes. Currently, the construction is ongoing, which will house the aircraft.

“The Air-Ground-Integration school is the training hub on targeting and minimization of civilian casualties.

“At present, five Nigerian Super Tucanos are at Moody AFB in Georgia for pilot and maintainer training.

“The two companies released images of the sixth aircraft, which also will be flown to Moody, in a jungle camouflage scheme.”

“The painted jungle scheme NAF A-29 now moves on to mission modification at Moody Air Force Base.”

“Following modification, before delivery, NAF pilots and maintenance personnel will further train in the aircraft,” the statement further cited Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC).

In November 2018, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded a $329 million Foreign Military Sales contract from the United States Government to construct 12 A-29s for the Nigerian air force.

The armed turboprops are proposed for usage against Boko Haram and Islamic State militants.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), founded in 1963, is an American, privately held aerospace and national security contractor specialising in aircraft modification and integration, space components and systems, and related technology products for cybersecurity and Health.

The company contracts with the United States Armed Forces, NASA and private spaceflight companies. SNC is headquartered in Sparks, Nevada and has 33 locations in 19 United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey.

SNC was involved in over 400 successful space missions, and built the cargo Dream Chaser, which will resupply the International Space Station with both pressurized and unpressurized cargo.

As of July 2020, SNC has taken part in 14 different missions to Mars.