News
Nigeria Approves $618 Million Borrowing for Attack Jets and Ammunition
Nigeria approved borrowing about $618 million to buy six Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ammunition, extending an air-force modernization drive that also includes AW-109 helicopters.
Borrowing approved for jets and ammunition
Nigeria's cabinet approved borrowing about $618 million from a group of financiers to buy six Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ammunition for the air force. The decision was announced on October 23, 2024, by Information Minister Mohammed Idris.
The borrowing sits inside a broader modernization push that has put the M-346 and AW-109 helicopter family at the center of Nigeria's recent air-power procurement plans.
Sources: Reuters: Nigeria approves borrowing for attack jets and ammunition, Reuters: Nigeria expands fleet with Italian jets and helicopters
Broader fleet renewal
Earlier October reporting said the Nigerian Air Force was acquiring 24 M-346 combat jets and 10 AW109 Trekker helicopters, with the first three M-346 aircraft expected in early 2025 and the rest scheduled through mid-2026.
A Nigerian Air Force page said Chief of the Air Staff Hasan Abubakar led a technical team to Italy to review procurement plans for the M-346 jet and AW-109 Trekker helicopter programs.
Sources: Reuters: Nigeria expands fleet with Italian jets and helicopters, Nigerian Air Force: M-346 and AW-109 Trekker procurement
Why it matters
The procurement shows Nigeria continuing to invest in higher-end combat aviation while facing armed-bandit violence in the northwest and an insurgency in the northeast. Readers can continue with the public catalog entries for the M-346 and AW-109 families to see the systems involved in this procurement story.
Sources: Reuters: Nigeria approves borrowing for attack jets and ammunition, Reuters: Nigeria expands fleet with Italian jets and helicopters
