Nigerian Air Force Lists 12 Aksungur Drones and Six T129 Helicopters Among Expected Aircraft
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has listed 12 TUSAŞ Aksungur unmanned combat aerial vehicles and six T129 ATAK attack helicopters among its “additional expected aircraft”, in an infographic published on its official X account on Sunday 25 October 2026. It is the first time DefenceMENA has seen the NAF name the Turkish Aksungur in its plans. The service gave no contract date, value or delivery schedule for either type.
What the Nigerian Air Force published
The graphic marks the first year in office of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, who reaches his anniversary on 30 October. Under the heading “Additional expected aircraft” it lists:
- 1 H-225 multi-role helicopter
- 3 CASA C-295 medium airlifters
- 7 AW109 Trekker Type B helicopters
- 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters
- 24 M-346 fighter/ground-attack aircraft
- 12 Aksungur unmanned combat aerial vehicles
- 6 T-129 ATAK helicopters
- 2 CH-4D UAVs
The accompanying text is less specific. It says that “plans continue for the acquisition of 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters, other aircraft and unmanned aerial systems”, without naming suppliers. “Expected” is the NAF’s own word: the statement does not say whether contracts have been signed for each item, and neither TUSAŞ nor Türkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) had commented when this article was published.
The T129 question
Nigeria ordered six T129 ATAKs from Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ), and the NAF confirmed four in service in May 2025. DefenceMENA has found no dated confirmation that the last two have arrived. The new graphic lists six T129s as expected. It does not say whether these are new airframes on top of the original six, or how the figure relates to the two outstanding helicopters. Some social-media accounts have described them as “six additional” T129s; the NAF has not said that.
Aksungur and CH-4D
Aksungur is a twin-engine medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone built by TUSAŞ. The company quotes a 24-metre wingspan, a payload of more than 750 kg and endurance of up to 50 hours (TUSAŞ figures via Türkiye Today); these are manufacturer data, not NAF figures. In Africa, Chad operates at least one Aksungur. The NAF did not say which payloads or weapons its aircraft would carry, or where they would be based.
Nigeria already flies Chinese CH-4B and Wing Loong II drones alongside Turkish Bayraktar TB2s, according to DefenceMENA’s NAF inventory. The graphic’s “CH-4D” designation is the NAF’s; it gave no further detail.
Other programmes in the update
The NAF said it took delivery of five helicopters in September 2026: three AW-109 Trekker B and two H125. On 22 October the NAF said that Leonardo had five more Trekkers ready for delivery and two more due before the end of 2026, making ten in all; the seven Trekkers in the new graphic match that remainder. Production of Nigeria’s 12 AH-1Z Vipers began in the United States in September 2026.
The graphic also lists the reactivation and avionics upgrade of six L-39ZA jets (three at LOTN in Slovakia, two of them due in October 2026, and three at Obsidian in Kano), depot maintenance of C-130 NAF 913 at OGMA in Portugal, and reactivation of ATR NAF 930 at 307 Executive Airlift Group in Abuja. Local production items include impulse release cartridges, a 250 kg bomb-loading trolley and 57 mm rockets that the NAF says are in development and ground testing.
Between November 2025 and September 2026 the NAF said it flew more than 6,100 hours and 2,900 sorties, using close to 10 million litres of Jet A-1.
Regional context
Turkish platforms already form a large part of Nigeria’s recent air procurement, from the T129 to the TB2 (Turkish systems in African armed forces). An Aksungur order would give the NAF a larger, longer-endurance Turkish drone than the TB2, but the service has not explained the requirement or how the type would be split between surveillance and strike missions. The announcement comes a day before the inaugural Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) opens in Lagos on 26 October (DefenceMENA preview; Military Africa).
What is not yet known
The NAF has not published contract values, signing dates or delivery timelines for the Aksungur, T129 or CH-4D, and has not said how many of the expected aircraft are funded. DefenceMENA will update this report if the NAF, TUSAŞ or the SSB release details.
