The U.S. government has announced that it has approved the sale of attack aircraft and other equipment to Nigeria.
The aircraft are expected to to be used against terrorists and other gunmen operating in the West African country.
In a statement released on Thursday by the U.S Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the equipment will cost Nigeria about $997 million.
According to the Thursday statement, the equipment requested to be purchased by the Nigerian government include 12 AH-1Z Attack Helicopters; twenty-eight (28) T-700 GE 401C engines (24 installed, 4 spares); and two thousand (2,000) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) guidance sections.
Others are Night Vision Cueing Display (NVCD); commercial variant GPS with Standard Positioning Service (SPS), and communication equipment.
The equipment also include electronic warfare systems; AN/AVS-9 Aviator’s Night Vision Imaging System; M197 20mm machine gun; Target Sight System (TSS); support equipment; spare engine containers; spare and repair parts; tools and test equipment; technical data and publication.