What Defense Systems Does Nigeria Buy From Turkey?

Nigeria is one of Turkey’s most active defense partners in West Africa. Confirmed Turkish equipment in Nigerian service includes Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 armed drones (43 airframes under the Nigerian Army’s “Project Guardian”), ASISGUARD Songar armed quadcopters, and Otokar Cobra armored personnel carriers — Nigeria is Africa’s largest Cobra operator. Two Dearsan-built OPV-76 offshore patrol vessels, an ASELSAN office in Abuja, and a 2026 special-forces training pact round out the picture. Turkey’s larger AKINCI combat drone is not a confirmed Nigerian system as of this writing.

İçindekiler / Contents

• Confirmed Turkish systems in Nigerian service
• Bayraktar TB2: Nigeria’s largest Turkish drone fleet
• Songar: the armed quadcopter few people talk about
• Why AKINCI is not (yet) a Nigerian system
• Otokar Cobra: the oldest Turkish footprint in Nigeria
• ASELSAN’s Abuja office and the radar/air-defense track
• Dearsan OPV-76: Turkey’s entry into Nigerian naval procurement
• The government-to-government framework: 2021 to 2026
• Summary table: status of every system
• FAQ
• Sources

Confirmed Turkish systems in Nigerian service

Nigeria’s relationship with Turkish defense industry did not start with a single headline purchase. It built up over roughly five years, from a 2021 government-to-government framework agreement to a 2026 special-forces training pact, with hardware programs running in parallel. Before going system by system, it is worth being precise about status, because open-source reporting on West African arms deals mixes confirmed deliveries with orders, negotiations and unverified claims — categories this article keeps separate throughout.

Three systems are unambiguously confirmed in Nigerian service today: the Bayraktar TB2 armed drone, the Songar armed quadcopter, and the Otokar Cobra armored personnel carrier. A fourth track — ASELSAN’s radar, air-defense and precision-guidance cooperation with the Nigerian Air Force — is confirmed as an institutional partnership, though individual system deliveries under it are not all itemized publicly. A fifth, naval shipbuilding with Dearsan Shipyard, is confirmed and under delivery.

Bayraktar TB2: Nigeria’s largest Turkish drone fleet

Nigeria’s Bayraktar TB2 program moved in stages. An initial order for six TB2s and two ground control stations was reported in late 2022, with airframes carrying Nigerian markings photographed at Baykar’s facility that September. Ahead of delivery, the Nigerian Army sent 46 personnel — 35 officers and 11 soldiers — to Turkey between May and September 2022 for pilot, mission-operator, avionics and maintenance training. The first system was delivered and became operational around October 2023.

The program then scaled up considerably. In December 2024, the Nigerian Army’s Space Command announced “Project Guardian,” putting the confirmed Nigerian Army Bayraktar TB2 fleet at 43 aircraft, procured to support operations against banditry and kidnapping networks in the North-West region (Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna) in addition to the long-running campaign against Boko Haram/ISWAP in the North-East. This is separate from and in addition to whatever TB2s the Nigerian Air Force operates directly; Nigerian reporting on the 43-unit figure specifically credits the Army.

Status: confirmed operator, active fleet. Roketsan’s MAM-L and MAM-C smart micro-munitions are the standard TB2 armament package worldwide and are assumed to be part of Nigeria’s munitions loadout by extension of the platform, though Nigeria has not published a separate munitions contract, so this specific detail should be read as inferred from the TB2 package rather than independently confirmed.

Songar: the armed quadcopter few people talk about

Alongside the TB2, Nigeria has acquired Songar armed quadcopter drones, made by the Turkish company ASISGUARD (a Kalyon Group subsidiary, not Baykar). Songar is a rotary-wing platform that can be fitted with a stabilized 5.56mm rifle mount, positioning it for close-range use rather than the TB2’s long-endurance strike-reconnaissance role. Nigerian defense reporting places these acquisitions within the broader effort to expand the country’s unmanned fleet against Boko Haram and other insurgent and criminal networks.

Status: confirmed operator for a smaller, undisclosed quantity; exact unit numbers and delivery dates are not publicly itemized to the same degree as the TB2 program.

Why AKINCI is not (yet) a Nigerian system

Because Nigeria already flies the TB2, it is a natural next question whether Baykar’s larger, higher-altitude AKINCI combat drone has followed. As of this writing, it has not. Confirmed African AKINCI operators are Somalia (delivered March 2025), Sudan, and the Government of National Unity in Libya — see our AKINCI in Africa: Confirmed Operators tracker for the full list. Nigeria does not appear on that list, and no Nigerian government statement, delivery photo, or serial-numbered airframe has surfaced to date. Any claim that Nigeria operates or has ordered AKINCI should be treated as an unverified claim until Baykar, the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, or the Air Force confirms it.

Otokar Cobra: the oldest Turkish footprint in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Turkish defense relationship is older than the drone era. Nigeria is Africa’s largest operator of the Otokar Cobra 4×4 armored personnel carrier, with roughly 193 vehicles delivered by 2008 — long before the TB2 or ASELSAN partnerships began. These first-generation Cobras (distinct from the newer Cobra II sold to Romania and other buyers) have been used by the Nigerian Army in operations against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East since 2013, making them one of the most combat-tested Turkish vehicle fleets on the continent. See our Turkish Armored Vehicles in Africa guide for how the Cobra fits alongside other Turkish platforms used on the continent.

Status: confirmed operator, legacy fleet; no confirmed follow-on order for the newer Cobra II has been reported for Nigeria.

ASELSAN’s Abuja office and the radar/air-defense track

ASELSAN formally incorporated a business presence in Nigeria in June 2025, opening an office in Abuja — its first standalone base in West Africa, aimed at supporting Nigerian and regional militaries directly rather than through distributors. As detailed in our ASELSAN in Africa profile, the Abuja office followed years of smaller-scale sales and is meant to shorten support timelines for Nigerian customers.

In September 2026, the Nigerian Air Force publicly reaffirmed this relationship: Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar stated the NAF’s commitment to deepening cooperation with ASELSAN specifically on radar, air-defense and precision-guidance capability. This is a confirmed institutional partnership; it does not, by itself, confirm which specific ASELSAN systems (radar models, missile types) have been delivered, only that a cooperation track exists and is being actively expanded.

Status: confirmed partnership (local presence + stated cooperation); specific system-level deliveries under this track are not fully itemized in public reporting.

Dearsan OPV-76: Turkey’s entry into Nigerian naval procurement

Turkish shipbuilding also has a confirmed, dated presence in the Nigerian Navy. Dearsan Shipyard signed a contract in November 2021 to build two 76-meter offshore patrol vessels (OPV-76 class) for Nigeria, with an estimated total program value around $160 million. Construction began in September 2022; the first vessel was launched in October 2023 and the second in April 2024. Both completed sea trials by 2025, with delivery to the Nigerian Navy expected the same year.

Status: confirmed order, in delivery. This is Turkey’s most significant surface-combatant footprint in Nigeria to date, though it sits outside the drone/armored-vehicle narrative that usually dominates coverage of Turkish-Nigerian defense ties.

The government-to-government framework: 2021 to 2026

Individual contracts sit inside a broader diplomatic framework that has deepened steadily:

• October 2021 — President Erdoğan visits Nigeria; the two governments sign a Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement, the framework under which most subsequent deals were negotiated.
• 2022 — TB2 order placed; Nigerian Army personnel trained in Turkey.
• 2023–2024 — TB2 deliveries begin and scale up; Dearsan vessels launched.
• June 2025 — ASELSAN opens its Abuja office.
• January 26–27, 2026 — President Bola Tinubu makes a state visit to Turkey, the first Nigerian presidential visit in nine years. Nigeria and Turkey sign nine bilateral agreements, including one covering direct supply, joint development, production, maintenance, modernization, technology transfer, training and information exchange in defense industry products — with both sides targeting $5 billion in bilateral trade.
• April 19–20, 2026 — Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru/Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa signs a further deal: Turkey will train 200 Nigerian special-forces personnel, and the agreement includes plans for a major joint military training facility inside Nigeria plus a first joint exercise later in the year.
• September 2026 — NAF publicly reaffirms the ASELSAN radar/air-defense cooperation track.

This sequence explains why Turkish content so often clusters around Nigeria: the relationship is not one transaction but a widening, multi-year industrial and training partnership, still being actively built out at the time of writing.

Summary table: status of every system

Where a contract value is not publicly disclosed, this article states so rather than estimating a figure.

FAQ

Does Nigeria operate the Bayraktar TB2?
Yes. The Nigerian Army confirmed a fleet of 43 TB2 aircraft under “Project Guardian,” announced in December 2024, following an initial 2022 order and 2023 delivery.

Does Nigeria operate the Bayraktar AKINCI?
No confirmed evidence supports this. Confirmed African AKINCI operators are Somalia, Sudan, and Libya’s GNU. Any claim of a Nigerian AKINCI fleet is currently unverified.

Is ASELSAN present in Nigeria?
Yes. ASELSAN opened an office in Abuja in June 2025, and the Nigerian Air Force publicly reaffirmed cooperation on radar, air-defense and precision-guidance systems in September 2026.

What Turkish armored vehicles does Nigeria use?
Nigeria is Africa’s largest operator of the Otokar Cobra 4×4 APC, with roughly 193 vehicles delivered by 2008, used against Boko Haram since 2013. No confirmed order for the newer Cobra II exists for Nigeria.

Is Nigeria buying Turkish warships?
Yes. Dearsan Shipyard is building two OPV-76 offshore patrol vessels for the Nigerian Navy under a 2021 contract worth an estimated $160 million, with delivery expected in 2025.

What did Nigeria and Turkey agree in 2026?
President Tinubu’s January 2026 state visit produced nine bilateral agreements, including a defense-industry framework covering joint production, technology transfer and training, targeting $5 billion in bilateral trade. A follow-up April 2026 deal added training for 200 Nigerian special forces and plans for a joint training facility in Nigeria.

Sources

• Military Africa — “Project Guardian: Nigeria Acquires 43 Turkish Drones to Enhance Security” (Dec 2024)
• Military Africa — “Aselsan opens Nigerian office, expanding African presence” (Aug 2025)
• Nigerian Air Force, official statement on ASELSAN cooperation (Sept 2026)
• Turkish Minute — “Nigeria signs defense deal with Turkey to train special forces, expand arms cooperation” (Apr 2026)
• Daily Sabah — coverage of President Tinubu’s state visit to Turkey (Jan 2026)
• DefenceWeb (South Africa) — Otokar Cobra Nigeria fleet reporting; Dearsan OPV-76 launch and sea-trial coverage
• Defence Turkey Magazine — DEARSAN 76m OPV construction for the Nigerian Navy
• The Defense Post — Dearsan Shipyard sea trials, Nigerian Navy OPV (Mar 2025)
• armyrecognition.com — Nigeria TB2 acquisition reporting; Dearsan OPV sea-trial completion

Last updated: September 7, 2026. Global Firepower rankings, where cited elsewhere on this site, are an index based on estimated quantities, not official military data; figures in this article are drawn from named open-source defense reporting and, where available, official government statements.

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