Nigerian Government bought Su-30 Fighter Jets from Russia

Momoh
Momoh
Jul 21, 2017 · 2 min read
The Su-30 is a two-seat highly maneuverable fighter designed for air-superiority and strikes at ground and it’s also good for long-range mission.

According to Russian Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Deputy Director Anatoly Punchuk, Russia is supplying 12 Su-30 multirole aircraft to Nigeria. Two aircraft have already been delivered to Nigeria, and the remaining 10 will be shipped before the end of 2018.

The Su-30 is a two-seat highly maneuverable fighter designed for air-superiority and strikes at ground and it’s also good for long-range mission. The aircraft Su-30 is built by Sukhoi Aviation Company.

So far there has been no public announcement from the Nigerian government on the purchase. It’s not clear how Nigeria is going to pay for the fighter jets most especially that the country is struggling to get out of recession. Each fighter jet can cost up to $40 million, and the twelve jets all together is expected to cost half of Nigeria’s defense annual budget.

Uganda and Angola years ago signed a deal to purchase the fighter jets, that’s according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The Nigerian government is going to use the Su-30 fighter jets in the fight against Boko Haram, a terrorist group which is responsible for more than half of civilian casualties in Africa and displacing more than 2.5 million people, which the highest humanitarian crisis in the world. The Su-30 might also be used against Niger Delta militant operating in the east, where oil is deposited.

Since 2015 Nigeria have been seeking to purchase A-29 Super Tucano — aircraft that’s perfect for air to ground operation from the US during the Obama Administration, but a deal could not go through due to concerns about corruption and human rights abuses committed by the Nigeria’s army. Human rights groups have allegedly confirmed that the Nigerian military consistently commits atrocities in the northern part of the country where Boko Haram is operating.

The Trump Administration has given the Nigerian government a green light for the sale, but there is still no support from congress to make the deal go through. With no support from the Congress, Nigeria had to turn to Russia for weapons in other to eliminate Boko Haram.

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The person behind this profile is a graduate of World Economics. Msc in Management: Diagnosis and management of crisis in an organization.

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