By Madu Onuorah
Details have emerged on why the United States (U.S.) of America on Wednesday approved an estimated cost of $346 million potential sales of munitions, precision bombs and precision rockets for the use of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
The U.S. Pentagon said “the proposed sale will improve Nigeria’s capability to meet current and future threats through operations against terrorist organizations and to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria will have no difficulty absorbing these munitions into its armed forces.”
Sources confirmed to Global Upfront Newspapers (GUN) that the approval for the weapons sales came as a result of the establishment of a historic stride toward enhancing civil-military relations and reinforcing of commitment to the protection of civilian lives through the establishment and implementation of the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMRAP) by NAF. They also took practical steps in this direction especially during the reported mistaken bombing of innocent civilians in the course of its counterterrorism operations in Zamfara State.
CHMRAP was formally unveiled on 20 May 2025 at NAF’s 61st Anniversary in Abuja, is geared towards integrating humanitarian considerations into air operations, particularly in asymmetric warfare settings where the risk to civilian populations is elevated.
Though the U.S. did not specify which platforms the new munitions are being acquired for, sources noted that they would be for NAF’s A-29 Super Tucano light combat/trainer aircraft acquired via U.S. company Sierra Nevada Corporation and inducted into the Air Force in August 2021. Being heavily used to combat Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and other security threats in Nigeria, the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft were supplied by the Joe Biden administration after a relaxation of rules under the Trump administration in 2017.
When Nigeria bought the Super Tucanos, it also acquired GBU-12 and GBU-58 Paveway II guided bombs, Laser Guided Rockets including Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rounds; Mk 81 bombs; and 70 mm Hydra 70 unguided rockets.
The United States had under the Leahy Law periodically restricted arms sales to Nigeria primarily due to concerns over human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by the Nigerian military.
The Leahy Law, named after Senator Patrick Leahy, prohibits the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security forces that commit human rights violations with impunity. The law has been cited as significant factor in restricting arms sales to Nigeria:
For example, in 2014, the Obama administration blocked the sale of Cobra helicopters from Israel to Nigeria and restricted other arms sales due to concerns about civilian casualties and unproven allegations of human rights abuses. This forced Nigeria to seek alternatives from countries like Turkey, which were also restricted by U.S. licensing requirements for American-made components.
In 2021, U.S. lawmakers, including Senators Bob Menendez and Jim Risch, placed a hold on a proposed $875 million arms sale, which included 12 AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, 28 GE Aviation helicopter engines, 14 Honeywell navigation systems, and 2,000 advanced precision kill weapon systems. The delay was due to concerns about human rights and the need to balance national security with humanitarian considerations.
But on Wednesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which delivered the required certification notifying American Congress of the possible sale, said in a statement that under the contract, the U.S. Government and contractor will offer “technical, engineering, and logistics personnel services; and other related elements of logistical and program support” to Nigeria.
This would enable the Air Force to boost its efforts in helping to defeat terrorist organizations and to counter illicit trafficking in the country and the Gulf of Guinea.
The contractors for the sales are Lockheed Martin LMT.N , RTX Missiles and Defense RTX.N and BAE Systems BAES.L, the statement said.
The potential sales to NAF include the following: one thousand two (1,002) MK-82 general purpose 500 lb bombs; one thousand two (1,002) MXU-650 Air Foil Groups (AFGs) for 500 lb Paveway II GBU-12; five hundred fifteen (515) MXU-1006 AFGs for 250 lb Paveway II GBU-58; one thousand five hundred seventeen (1,517) MAU-169 or MAU-209 computer control group (CCG) for Paveway II GBU-12/GBU-58; one thousand two (1,002) FMU-152 joint programmable fuzes; and five thousand (5,000) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) all-up-rounds (AURs) (consisting of one each WGU-59/B guidance section (GS); high-explosive warhead; and MK66-4 rocket motor).
The following non-MDE items will also be included: FMU-139 joint programmable fuzes; bomb components, impulse cartridges, and high-explosive and practice rockets; integration support and test equipment; U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics personnel services; and other related elements of logistical and program support.
Earlier on July 8, 2025, NAF inaugurated the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) Board to spearhead the execution of its Civilian Harm Mitigation Action Plan (CHMRAP) towards deepening commitment to international humanitarian law and the integration of accountability into air operations.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, described CHMRAP as a bold and unprecedented initiative, noting: “This policy framework is designed to guide our efforts in reducing the scale and impact of harm to civilians during air operations. It formalises our operational values of precision, accountability, and restraint.”
This would enable the conduct of NAF operations to be with established rules of compassion, responsibility, and respect for human life, including the implementation of measures to minimise harm to civilians during operations, and responding immediately when incidents occur through payment of compensation, communication, and preventive strategies.
The NAF efforts in advancing civilian protection has already received widespread commendation. During the United Nations (UN) and Tunisian Defence Forces–sponsored Conference on Protection of Civilians, held recently in Tunis, Tunisia, NAF was particularly praised for embedding leadership oversight, training, and data collection into its operational framework to improve the protection of civilians.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief of the Air Staff at the Tunis event, Director of Cooperation and Coordination at the NAF Civil-Military Relations Branch, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, emphasised that “protecting civilians is not only a moral imperative but a constitutional responsibility embedded in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.”
