Which African Countries Operate the T129 ATAK Attack Helicopter?

Two African air forces have confirmed, in-service TAI T129 ATAK attack helicopters: Nigeria, which has four of six ordered helicopters delivered and flying combat sorties against bandits in the north-west, and Somalia, which took delivery of three in June 2025, its first attack helicopters of any kind. A reported 2018 Moroccan interest in the type never produced a contract. No other African country has a confirmed T129 order, delivery or operational fleet.

Photo: A TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK attack helicopter on static display at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow. This is a file photo of the type and does not show a Nigerian or Somali aircraft. Credit: MilborneOne, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Direct answer

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI, now Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii, TUSAŞ) developed the T129 ATAK with Italy’s Leonardo from the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta airframe, rebuilding it with new engines, Turkish avionics and an all-Turkish weapons fit. In Africa, two countries have a confirmed, documented fleet: Nigeria ordered six in 2021-2022 and has four in service, deployed to a forward operating base in Katsina for counter-banditry operations in the north-west. Somalia received three in June 2025 under deepening Turkish-Somali defence ties, becoming the country’s first attack helicopters of any kind. A 2018 Moroccan report of interest in the T129 did not lead to a confirmed contract; Morocco’s subsequent attack-helicopter acquisition has centred on the US AH-64E Apache. No evidence of a T129 order, evaluation or delivery could be found for any other African state.

This page tracks the T129 ATAK specifically. Nigeria’s full delivery and deployment record, including the gap between social-media claims and the Nigerian Air Force’s own official count, is covered in detail on DefenceMENA’s dedicated Nigeria T129 ATAK fleet page. Other attack helicopter types in African service, including the Soviet/Russian-origin Mi-24 and Mi-35, are tracked separately; see Related alternatives below.

Quick operator table

Map: status by country

Each country is coloured by the highest verified status of its T129 ATAK holdings; Morocco’s lapsed, unconfirmed 2018 interest is excluded from the map.

Confirmed operators

• Nigeria. The first confirmed African operator. A Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement signed during President Erdo&gcaron;an’s October 2021 state visit to Abuja led to TAI confirming a sale of six T129s at the July 2022 Farnborough Airshow. The Nigerian Air Force received its first pair at Makurdi in November 2023, inducted them in February 2024, and took a second pair around September 2024. The NAF Chief of the Air Staff put the confirmed total at four at the service’s 61st anniversary in May 2025, and the aircraft have been shown deployed to a new forward operating base in Katsina for Operation Fansan Yamma, Nigeria’s counter-banditry campaign in the north-west — a different mission from the original Boko Haram/ISWAP justification cited at the time of sale. Full procurement timeline and sourcing: Nigeria’s T129 ATAK Fleet: What’s Actually Delivered, and Where It’s Deployed.
• Somalia. Turkish Aerospace delivered three T129 ATAKs to the Somali Armed Forces around 4-5 June 2025, following a phone call between President Erdo&gcaron;an and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, after a year of Turkish-led pilot training. Army Recognition describes them as the first combat helicopters ever fielded by Somalia. The helicopters’ armament reportedly includes a 20mm cannon, UMTAS anti-tank missiles and CİRIT guided rockets. A February 2026 report (ADF Magazine) says the helicopters were “apparently” used to strike al-Shabaab targets soon after arrival; this claim is not independently confirmed and is treated here as reported, not established, combat use. The delivery itself, and the Turkish-trained Somali pilots flying the type from the TurkSOM base in Mogadishu, are confirmed by multiple defence-press sources.

Ordered / awaiting delivery

Nigeria’s remaining two T129s, from its original six-aircraft order, have no dated, sourced confirmation of delivery as of October 2026. No other African country has a confirmed, under-contract T129 order awaiting delivery.

Reported but unconfirmed

• Morocco – T129 ATAK (RUMOURED, lapsed). A 2018 Military Africa report said Morocco was moving to buy the T129 ATAK. No contract, quantity or delivery was ever confirmed, and no further reporting on a Moroccan T129 programme has surfaced in the years since. Morocco’s confirmed attack-helicopter modernisation in the same period has instead centred on a requested fleet of AH-64E Apache helicopters from the United States. This article treats the 2018 report as a lapsed, unconfirmed interest rather than an active evaluation.

Retired

No African country has retired a T129 ATAK; the type has only recently entered service on the continent.

Quantity conflicts

• Nigeria, delivery count. A January 2025 social-media post claimed the Nigerian Air Force had received its “entire delivery” of six T129s. The Chief of the Air Staff’s later, official statement on 16 May 2025 put the confirmed total at four. This article follows the official figure and treats the social-media claim as superseded, per DefenceMENA’s dedicated Nigeria page.
• Somalia, reported combat use. ADF Magazine’s “apparently… used to strike al-Shabaab targets” claim is not corroborated by an official Somali, Turkish or independent battle-damage source in any report found. It is noted here as reported, not confirmed, and does not change this article’s Operational classification, which rests on the confirmed delivery and documented pilot training and basing rather than on the unconfirmed strike claim.
• Countries checked with no evidence found. No independently sourced T129 ATAK order, evaluation or delivery could be confirmed for Niger, Chad, Rwanda, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia or any other African state beyond Nigeria, Somalia and Morocco’s lapsed 2018 report.

Procurement history

Turkey has marketed the T129 ATAK as an export attack helicopter since the mid-2010s, with the Philippines as its first export customer (2021-2022) and Pakistan’s planned purchase stalled by a US export licence dispute over the LHTEC CTS800 engine. Nigeria became the programme’s first confirmed African and second overall export customer, agreeing a defence-industry framework with Türkiye in October 2021 and a six-helicopter sale announced the following year, part of a wider Nigerian shift toward Turkish-built hardware documented on DefenceMENA’s overview of Turkish defence companies active in Africa. Somalia’s acquisition followed a different track: a February 2024 defence agreement and a year of Turkish-led pilot training culminated in the June 2025 delivery, part of a broader expansion of Turkish military support to Mogadishu that has also included Bayraktar TB2 drones and training teams. Morocco’s 2018 interest predates both and did not progress; its later, confirmed attack-helicopter plans moved toward the US-built Apache instead.

Variants

• T129 / T129A. The baseline export configuration, powered by two LHTEC CTS800-4A turboshaft engines and fitted with Turkish-made avionics, a 20mm three-barrel cannon, and a mixed weapons fit of CIRIT laser-guided rockets and UMTAS anti-tank missiles. Nigeria’s and Somalia’s helicopters are this standard, reported by Turkish trade press (not independently confirmed) as the “T129B” sub-standard also supplied to the Philippines.
• A129 Mangusta lineage. The T129 shares its basic airframe with Leonardo’s (formerly AgustaWestland’s) Italian A129 Mangusta, but Türkiye and Leonardo re-engineered the powerplant, transmission, avionics and sensor suite for hot-and-high performance and an all-Turkish weapons integration, making the T129 a distinct, separately marketed design rather than a licence-built Mangusta.

African operational context

The T129 ATAK is, for both of its confirmed African operators, a first-of-its-kind capability rather than a replacement for an existing attack-helicopter fleet. Nigeria’s NAF had previously relied on Mi-24/Mi-35 gunships and armed Alpha Jets for close air support against Boko Haram, ISWAP and, more recently, banditry in the north-west; the T129 adds a dedicated, modern attack platform alongside that older fleet rather than displacing it, as DefenceMENA’s survey of Mi-24 and Mi-35 combat use in Africa sets out. Somalia had no attack helicopters of any kind before June 2025, making the T129 a step change for a military fighting a long-running insurgency with air power supplied almost entirely by Turkey and other partners. Both cases sit inside a broader pattern across the continent’s wider rotary-wing inventory, covered on DefenceMENA’s survey of military helicopters in African armed forces: dedicated attack helicopters remain rare outside a handful of states, and where they appear, they increasingly arrive from Turkey or China rather than from the Soviet-legacy or Western suppliers that dominated earlier African fleets.

Related alternatives

For Nigeria’s full T129 delivery record and the gap between official and social-media claims, see Nigeria’s T129 ATAK Fleet: What’s Actually Delivered, and Where It’s Deployed. For older Soviet/Russian-origin attack helicopters still flying across the continent, see Mi-24 and Mi-35 Attack Helicopters in Africa and the wider Military Helicopters of African Armed Forces in 2026. Nigeria’s broader arsenal, including its other Turkish-sourced equipment, is covered in Nigeria’s Military Strength in 2026 and Turkish Defence Companies Active in Africa in 2026. Readers interested in TUSAŞ’s wider export and development pipeline, including its own stated platform targets, may find the Turkish sister publication Envanter Medya’s overview of TUSAŞ’s 2035 targets useful context.

FAQ

Which African countries operate the T129 ATAK attack helicopter?

Nigeria and Somalia. Nigeria has four of six ordered helicopters confirmed delivered and in service; Somalia received three in June 2025. No other African country has a confirmed order, delivery or operational fleet.

How many T129 ATAK helicopters does Nigeria actually have?

Four, according to the Nigerian Air Force Chief of the Air Staff’s statement at the service’s 61st anniversary in May 2025, out of six ordered. A social-media claim from January 2025 that the full six had arrived is not supported by that later official statement.

Has Somalia used its T129 ATAK helicopters in combat?

One report says they were “apparently” used to strike al-Shabaab targets soon after their June 2025 delivery, but this is not independently confirmed by an official or verified source. Their delivery, Turkish-led pilot training and basing in Mogadishu are confirmed.

Did Morocco buy the T129 ATAK?

Morocco was reported in 2018 to be moving toward a T129 purchase, but no contract was ever confirmed, and Morocco’s subsequent, confirmed attack-helicopter plans have centred on the US-built AH-64E Apache instead.

What is the T129 ATAK based on?

It shares its basic airframe with Leonardo’s (AgustaWestland’s) Italian A129 Mangusta, but Turkish Aerospace Industries and Leonardo re-engineered the engines, transmission, avionics and weapons integration, producing a distinct design rather than a licence-built Mangusta.

Sources

• DefenceMENA – Nigeria’s T129 ATAK Fleet: What’s Actually Delivered, and Where It’s Deployed
• Army Recognition – Somalia Bolsters Close Air Support With First Delivery of Turkish T129 Attack Helicopters
• ADF Magazine – Somalia Gets T-129 Attack Helicopters
• Military Africa – Morocco to Buy the Turkish TAI T-129 ATAK Helicopter (2018)
• Military Africa – Morocco Requests 24 AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters Worth $1.5 Billion
• DefenceMENA – Turkish Defence Companies Active in Africa in 2026

Method: operator status was checked against official Nigerian Air Force statements (via DefenceMENA’s dedicated Nigeria page), defence-press coverage (Army Recognition, ADF Magazine, Military Africa) and cross-checked for any additional African evaluation or order; single-source and press-only claims, including Somalia’s reported strike use and Morocco’s lapsed 2018 interest, are marked accordingly and kept out of the confirmed count. Wikipedia and GlobalFirepower were used only to locate leads, never as the cited figure.

Last updated: 18 October 2026