The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has listed 12 Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and six more T129 ATAK attack helicopters among up to 67 new manned and unmanned aircraft it expects to receive. Both types come from Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ), and the NAF grouped them under the heading of “additional expected aircraft” in its latest fleet disclosure.
NAF headquarters released the list in a statement and infographic on 25 October marking one year since Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke took office as Chief of the Air Staff on 30 October 2025. The anniversary statement outlined the NAF’s fleet development plans alongside a summary of the past year’s operations and deliveries.
Beyond the Turkish systems, the list includes 24 Leonardo M-346 fighter and ground-attack jets, 12 Bell AH-1Z attack helicopters, seven more AW109 Trekker B helicopters and three Airbus C295 transports. It also counts one Airbus H225 multi-role helicopter and two CH-4D drones from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), placing Chinese and Turkish unmanned systems on the same list.
The NAF listed the aircraft as expected acquisitions, setting out types and quantities as the basis of its fleet development plans. The six additional T129s and the other listed types sit in the NAF’s procurement pipeline as future additions to its fleet.
The new T129s would come on top of the six helicopters the NAF received in 2024, which would take the service’s T129 fleet to 12. Nigeria’s original six-helicopter purchase was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2022, with TUSAŞ as the prime contractor.
The first two T129s reached Nigeria aboard an Airbus A400M transport in November 2023, ahead of their formal service entry. The NAF inducted that pair at Makurdi on 6 February 2024, three months after their arrival.
A second batch of T129s arrived in September 2024, completing deliveries under the first order. Turkish industry has also eyed the training side of the fleet, with HAVELSAN saying in 2024 that it planned to provide ATAK helicopter simulators as Nigeria’s ATAK fleet grows.
The 12 Aksungurs would join an NAF unmanned fleet that already operates the Baykar Bayraktar TB2 alongside China’s Wing Loong II, along with the two CH-4Ds now on the expected list. The disclosure came as Lagos hosts the Africa Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) 2026, where Turkish firms are exhibiting in a Türkiye Pavilion from 26 to 29 October.
The list follows recent deliveries, with the NAF receiving three AW109 Trekker B and two Airbus H125 helicopters in September. The service said the H125s have “materially boosted asset availability, giving commanders greater flexibility across multiple theatres”.
The NAF is also reactivating and upgrading six L-39ZA jets in Slovakia and Nigeria, with two expected to be finished by the end of October. One C-130 is in periodic depot maintenance in Portugal, while an ATR is being reactivated in Abuja.
Over the first year of Aneke’s tenure, the NAF logged more than 6,100 flying hours across more than 2,900 sorties, covering precision strikes, armed reconnaissance, surveillance and close air support. The six additional T129s are listed as an addition to the six delivered from February 2024, making the T129 and the Aksungur the two Turkish types in the NAF’s next phase of fleet growth.
