On Wednesday, August 13, 2025, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the US Department of State’s approval for a potential sale to the Federal Republic of Nigeria of an aircraft armament package, including bombs, guidance kits, and missiles, worth up to 346 million USD.
GBU-12 Paveway II / Photo: US Department Of Defense
According to the published information, the government in Abuja requested the possible acquisition of 1,002 Mark 82 general-purpose bombs weighing 227 kg each, 1,002 MXU-650 airfoil group kits for GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, 515 MXU-1006 airfoil group kits for GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, 1,517 MAU-169 or MAU-209 guidance kits for GBU-12/GBU-58 bombs, 1,002 FMU-152 programmable fuzes for these bombs, and 5,000 WGU-59/B APKWS II (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II) laser guidance modules, consisting of a guidance section, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, and an MK66-4 rocket motor.
The request also covered the following non-MDE (Major Defense Equipment) items: FMU-139 programmable fuzes, bomb components, impulse cartridges for countermeasure flares, rockets with high-explosive fragmentation and training warheads, equipment to support integration and testing, services of US Government technical, engineering, and logistics personnel as well as contractor support (RTX Missiles and Defense, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems), along with other related logistical and program support elements.
For the Nigerian Armed Forces, Mark 82 aerial bombs, converted into GBU-12 Paveway II, will be carried by 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, while both the GBU-58 Paveway II and the GBU-12 will be deployed from 24 ordered Leonardo M-346FA Master advanced trainer/light attack aircraft. Both types of aircraft will also be able to use APKWS II kits, which will likewise be compatible with the planned fleet of 12 Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.
