Posted on 11/19/2014 4:58:52 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
LONDON–The Nigerian air force is concerned that efforts to acquire new combat aircraft from Textron Inc.TXT +1.56% and AirLand Enterprises LLC to battle Boko Haram militants will be blocked over concerns about the country’s human rights record.
“We are really handicapped in attacking the enemy where we want,” Air Vice Marshal R.A. Ojuawo, the director of operations for the Nigerian air force, said Tuesday. “We need capabilities for a timely response.”
Nigeria has battled the Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram over control of the country’s northeast. Nigeria in recent days retook the area of Chibok, where the insurgents kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in April.
The senior Nigerian air force officer expressed concern a deal could be blocked on human rights grounds after an earlier effort to acquire combat helicopters was blocked over the issue. The air force currently relies on a fleet of older jets, including Chinese-made F-7 planes and European Alpha Jets.
Textron, the largest maker of business aircraft, and AirLand have been marketing the Scorpion military jet as a low-cost option for many nations that can’t afford more traditional and expensive designs. The companies developed the aircraft on their own rather than relying on government funding, as is more traditional.
“We want this, we need this,” AVM Ojuawo said of the Scorpion jet. The country would initially look to acquire 12 jets to form one squadron. A formal request to buy the plane has not been made, though that could happen soon, he said.
Scorpion has been designed to cost less than $20 million per jet. The companies have said first deliveries could occur 18 months after they receive an order.
The battle with Boko Haram has led to more than 17,000 deaths since 2011, according to New York’s Council on Foreign Relations.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
No doubt Nigeria will pay for the warplanes just as soon as those Western Union money orders start coming in.
Oooh, A-10 wannabe? Looks nice.
It's intended purpose is counter insurgency, light air-to-air and air-to-ground.
It is intended to do 70% of the job, depending on configuration as:
1) A ground attack aircraft
2) A tactical bomber
3) An Air Defense aircraft
4) An ISR platform
It is NOT in anyway shape or form a replacement for top end gear.
Think about it, why should I scramble an F-16, F-15, or F-22 to intercept a guy in a Cessna 150?
It costs a third to fly and maintain of an F-16, yet can do all the jobs that we use the F-16’s for in this country.
It's a light patrol craft. That's it's job.
And within 12 months of delivery all the aircraft will be sitting on the tarmac, grounded due to lack of maintenance and the fact that the money for spare parts was siphoned off into someone's bank account.
It does look like the result of an illicit liaison between an A-10 and an F-18
Gotta watch those fighter jets, they get up to trouble when nobody’s looking.
“...where the insurgents kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in April.”
That story has dropped off the face of the earth. Did they ever rescue/recover any of them ?
Yeah, and supersonic, you can’t even hear ‘em coming!
Definitely. No way this puppy is supersonic. But it’s cute.
It’s a Personal Attack Plane. Gotta get me one. Take it to Ferguson.
Oh YEAH!
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