India has extended $200 million line of credit to Nigeria in a bid to help facilitate the procurement of light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1, the single-engine multi-role combat aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
According to media reports, Nigeria is looking to replace its fleet of Chengdu F-7NI, a variant of Chinese fighter aircraft Chengdu J-7 specifically tailored for Nigeria and is part of the broader family of J-7 aircraft, known for their short-range air-to-air combat capabilities. India is putting forward Tejas Mk1 as an advanced and cost-effective alternative for the aging Chengdu F-7NI fleet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently visited Nigeria. During his visit, a series of agreements were signed between the two countries. "In recent years, India-Nigeria ties have evolved into a "Strategic Partnership” with sound political understanding, diversified economic engagement, intensifying technical cooperation, close people to people contact as well as deepening relations in the fields of Science and Technology, Education, Trade, Agriculture, Defence, Space, Cyber Security, Energy, FinTech, Healthcare, Capacity Building, Training, and concessional Lines of Credit. Both sides agreed to continue strengthening their historical and strategic bilateral relations," a statement from the ministry of external affairs had read.
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According to a IDRW report, Nigeria will be able to procure four to five Tejas Mk1A fighter jets with the line of credit offered, and in the long term, this number could go up to 15.
Nigeria, in 2021, inducted into its Air Force, a few JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, a lightweight, single-engine multirole combat aircraft developed through a collaboration between the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. However, reports suggest that the country is not planning to expand the JF-17 Thunder fleet and is looking for alternatives.
India's offer of Tejas Mk1, which is considered to be more maneuverable and reliable than JF-17, with a line of credit for procurement may make it easy for Nigeria to make a decision.
