Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has inspected the production of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft and helicopters at the facilities of Leonardo S.p.A., a leading defence manufacturing company in northern Italy.
Badaru, who accompanied President Bola Tinubu to the AQABA Process meeting, visited Leonardo’s Helicopters Division in Vergiate and the Aircraft Division in Venegono, where key air platforms for Nigeria are being assembled.
In a statement released on Saturday in Abuja, the Minister’s Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mati Ali, confirmed that Badaru reviewed the progress of ten AW109 Trekker attack helicopters currently under construction for the Nigerian Air Force.
According to Ali, three of the helicopters have been completed and are ready for delivery, three more will be delivered before the end of 2025, while the remaining four are expected to arrive in early 2026.
He further disclosed that Badaru inspected the production of six M-346 Fighter Attack Jets, which are at advanced stages of completion. Three of the jets are undergoing flight testing, while the remaining three are scheduled for testing soon.
“The 24 aircraft will be delivered in four batches, complete with weapons systems, tools, spare parts, and logistics support,” the statement read.
Badaru expressed satisfaction with the quality of work and commended Leonardo’s engineers for their expertise and professionalism.