The federal government has revealed plans to acquire 24 fighter aircrafts from Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI) to update its fleet and strengthen its Air Force.
Nigeria Air Force spokesperson, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet announced this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
The jets will be delivered to the country in four groups of six aircraft each, the Air force said.
Nigeria expects to receive the first set of six M-346 fighter jets by the end of the year, according to the statement from Gabkwet.
This development came after Claudio Sabatino, Vice President of Leonardo, met with Nigeria’s Air Force chief, Hasan Abubakar, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Air Vice Marshal Gabkwet said Sabatino has guaranteed Abubakar timely delivery of the first batch of the aircraft.
Sabatino also disclosed that an additional agreement between NAF and the company would be required to finalize certain aspects of the projects.
