According to Reuter report, The Headquarters of the United States Department of Defence, the Pentagon, has informed the US Congress of the sale of 12 Super Tucano A-29 ground attack aircraft and some other weapons to Nigeria in her quest to quency Boko Haram insurgency and end Terrorism.
The sale of the 12 aircraft which is reported to be valued around $593m was made known to the US Congress on Monday by the Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency.
The A-29 Super Tucano, a derivative of the Embraer Tucano is "an agile , propeller - driven plane with attack as well as reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities is produced in Brazil by Embraer. The aircraft can fly missions even in complex environment like Desert, jungles, forest, during the day or at night and is equipped with the appropriate sensors and weapons with the right set of ordinance to pack a formidable firepower in low threat environment.
The A-29 attack aircraft can be used as a deterrent to terrorist’ efforts to mass forces for large scale attacks. Apart from combat missions, the aircraft can also be used for gathering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions which is very vital in counter - insurgency.
Before this new development , US had stopped Brazil from selling the A-29 Super Tucano to Nigeria in 2016 because of allegations of human rights violations against the Nigerian Military quoting the Leahy Law which prohibits the US defence sector from providing military assistance to countries involved in human rights violations but changed their mind in April,2017 and gave the deal a thumbs up.
US officials told the Associated Press that the Congress was expected to receive formal notification within weeks , setting in motion the deal in which about 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano with sophisticated targeting gear will be delivered to Nigeria.
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