No fewer than three United States military aircraft landed in Nigeria between Thursday and Friday, delivering ammunition and equipment to support the country’s fight against insurgency.
The aircraft, according to a report by Punch Newspaper, touched down at military bases in Borno and other northeastern states. Senior officers at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters disclosed that the consignments were part of American military assistance to bolster ongoing counter-insurgency operations.
According to the officers, who spoke in separate interviews, the development followed recent Nigeria–US bilateral security talks.
“Following Nigeria–US bilateral talks on security, the American government will not only deploy soldiers but also provide necessary logistics, including ammunition, to fight the insurgents,” one senior officer told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
Another high-ranking officer described the delivery as part of routine operational logistics, noting that ammunition stocks are often replenished after sustained operations.
“I know that recently US aircraft came to supply ammunition for our platforms, and that wasn’t the first time. We go for operations and use different calibres of ammunition, which need to be replaced,” he said.
He added that both governments, under the coordination of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, were strengthening collaboration to address insecurity, hinting at further aircraft and troop deployments.
On Saturday, The New York Times reported that US military aircraft landed in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Thursday night. By Friday evening, three planes were reportedly visible at the base, with equipment being offloaded.
“These initial flights are the vanguard of what will be a stream of C-17 transport flights into three main locations across Nigeria,” a US Department of Defense official told the newspaper.
Security watchers on social media also tracked the movements. An X account, @mobilisingniger, reported that a US Air Force C-130J transport aircraft landed at Kaduna International Airport after departing from Ghana, suggesting the Kaduna Depot could serve as a potential training hub for US personnel working with the Nigerian military.
Another X user, Brant Philip, claimed there had been a “massive delivery of equipment” to the Maiduguri Airbase, noting that a C-130J-30 cargo aircraft flew from Accra, Ghana, following the same route as two earlier C-17A aircraft.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, had yet to respond to enquiries on the development as of the time of filing this report.
The deployment follows heightened security cooperation between both countries. In 2025, US President Donald Trump declared that Washington would send military forces to Nigeria if the government failed to halt what he described as genocide against Christians.
Subsequently, the United States designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern and reportedly carried out an airstrike against Islamic State fighters in Sokoto State on Christmas Day.
Earlier reports indicated that about 200 American intelligence analysts, advisers and trainers would be deployed to Nigeria to assist its armed forces in targeted counterterrorism operations.
The New York Times further reported that the first wave of personnel had arrived, with additional aircraft carrying troops and equipment expected to land over the weekend as part of a sustained military support effort.