The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, have travelled to Turkey to facilitate the speedy delivery of T-129 ATAK helicopters to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
In a statement on Sunday, the Director of Public Relations and Information at NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said that two of the six units of T-129 ATAK helicopters procured by the Federal Government from the Turkish Aerospace Industry would be delivered in the coming weeks.
The remaining four helicopters are expected to be delivered before the end of the second quarter of 2024.
According to the NAF spokesman, the defence minister held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Lt. Gen. Yasar Guler (retd.), on critical bilateral and defence cooperation between the two countries.
Gabkwet said the Turkish defence minister promised Nigeria all the support required from the Turkish military and defence companies to accelerate the defeat of terrorism and other criminal challenges in Nigeria.
He stated also that Badaru and Abubakar visited selected Turkish companies, including Turkish Aerospace Industries, MKE, Aselsan, and Roketsan, in their quest for collaboration.
“These companies are among the highly-rated global defence companies renowned for the production of quality defence and military equipment.
“While at these companies, the Minister of Defence called for improved synergy between the companies and Nigeria through the transfer of defence technology to Nigeria”, Gabkwet stated.
