Ademola Adegbamigbe
From the look of things, it seems terrorists in Nigeria, bandits, kidnappers and other desperados are in trouble. Their “shit” has somewhat hit the fan. Their nemesis has landed in the form of an eagle.
On Thursday, 22 July 2021, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force announced with eclat that the first batch of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft had arrived Kano. That was at about 12.34pm.
That day, on hand to receive the six aircraft were the Honourable Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao.
Not a few Nigerians criticised the Federal Government for making a noise about the aircraft. One of the critics, Emeka Duru Alex, said: “You are in a war. You acquire some weapons. You advertise the weapons. Is it for the enemy to run away or to know how to counter your offensive?”
However, another critic, Sola Fasure, reacted, “Some weapons like the Tucano will scare the living daylights out of some enemies just like the B52 bombers will scare the shits out of some terrorists in the Middle East.”
In other words, scare mongering is part of warfare, a form of battle by other means. That is why North Korea, China, Russia try to flex mussels by parading their tanks and fighter jets. In fact, the US has penchant to sail its massive aircraft carriers close to a crisis ridden region, to say, “we are around, you had better behave well.” So also is the British Admiralty. In a dramatic way, during the Gulf war, President Sadam Hussein promoted himself field Marshal! Threat…
What They Are Capable of Doing
The A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft can, according intelligent-aerospace, to be used to carry out various missions, including close air support and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
The aircraft is in use with nine air forces around the world and, for more than eight years, has employed state-of-the-art capabilities in operational missions.
The site added: “The Super Tucano is equipped with advanced electronic, electro-optic, infrared, and laser system technologies, as well as secure radio systems with data links and munitions capacity. It is well suited for a wide range of military missions, even operating from unpaved runways and in hostile environments.
7 Facts about the A-29 Super Tucano:
A clean sheet design – built from the ground up for the light air support mission
A production aircraft – more than 190 ordered and more than 170 built and delivered
Operational today and performing ISR and close air support missions around the globe
In use with militaries in nine nations: Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia and Mauritania
More than 180,000 flight hours logged, including 28,000 combat hours; no combat losses
Certified for more than 130 munitions configurations.
The A-29 Super Tucano has the open design architecture required to keep pace with next-generation avionics, communication, and weapons systems