Russia to sell Nigeria 10 SU-30 fighter jet aircraft as air force buys more hardware to combat terrorism

RUSSIA has announced that it will sell the Nigerian Air Force 10 SU-30 multirole fighter aircraft next year as part of its assistance to the country in its ongoing war against Boko Haram terrorists fighting in the northeast of the country.

Over the last 10 years, Boko Haram has been waging a war of insurgency against Nigeria but over the last three years, the military has got on top of the situation thanks to having better hardware. Russia has been a major supplier of equipment like armoured tanks and fighter jets, which have been instrumental in containing the terrorists.

In January this year, the Nigerian Air Force acquired two Mi-35M attack helicopters from Russia, which have since been deployed to the northeast to fight Boko Haram. Anatoliy Punchuk, the deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said this will be followed up with the supply of the new jet fighters.

Mr Punchuk said: "In 2018, Russia will supply 10 Su-30 aircraft. Thus, the contract will be completed by the end of next year."

A multi-role aircraft, the SU-30 is a twin-engine, two-seat manoeuvrable fighter designed for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions. Equipped with a digital fly-by-wire system, the Su-30 is able to perform some very advanced manoeuvres.