The Nigerian Air Force has entered a new procurement process to increase the strike power in its inventory and expand its counter-terrorism capacity. Nigeria, one of Africa's largest military powers, is preparing to procure from Türkiye 12 AKSUNGUR Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) and 6 additional T129 ATAK attack helicopters, produced by TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries).
This new strategic procurement decision has demonstrated the operational success and growing market share of Turkish aviation platforms on the African continent.
The ATAK Fleet Doubles, AKSUNGUR to Dominate the Skies
Nigeria's decision to increase its T129 ATAK fleet to 12 is seen as the clearest indication of operational satisfaction in the field. The Nigerian military, which obtained high efficiency from the 6 T129 ATAK helicopters it had previously added to its inventory, will now double its inventory of Turkish attack helicopters with this new order.
Alongside this, the 12 AKSUNGUR UCAVs included in the order package will assume a critical role for Nigeria's intelligence, surveillance and high-payload-capacity strike requirements. Defence industry analysts note that the AKSUNGURs to be delivered will complement the Nigerian Air Force's existing Chinese-built (Wing Loong II and CH-4) armed drone fleet, providing the country with one of Africa's largest and most modern unmanned aerial vehicle fleets.
The Concrete Output of the January 2026 Memorandum
This strategic procurement process is seen as the first major concrete reflection in the field of the Military Cooperation Protocol signed between Türkiye and Nigeria in January 2026.
Following the nine strategic agreements signed during Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's visit to Ankara, Nigerian military delegations sat directly at the table with domestic defence giants such as ASELSAN, TAI, Baykar and ROKETSAN. This step, taken in line with the two countries' leaders' target of raising trade volume to $5 billion, also underlines Türkiye's technological and intelligence support to Nigeria against terrorist organisations such as Boko Haram and ISWAP in the Sahel region.
Success in the Field Opened New Export Doors
The attack helicopter bridge between Nigeria and TAI was first announced in 2022 at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom. The initial export package of six helicopters, announced by the TAI management of the time, brought Nigeria among the global actors using the T129 ATAK system. The flawless performance of the first batch in the challenging African geography became the greatest factor paving the way for today's massive order of 18 platforms (12 AKSUNGUR + 6 ATAK).
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