RismadarVoice Reporters
February 15, 2026
No fewer than three United States military aircraft landed in Nigeria between Thursday and Friday, delivering ammunition and other logistics to support the country’s ongoing counter-insurgency operations.
The aircraft were said to have touched down at military bases in Borno and other states in the North-East, according to senior officers at the Defence Headquarters.
In separate interviews with newsmen, the officers disclosed that the planes carried ammunition supplied by the American government as part of bilateral security cooperation between both countries.
One of the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the deployment followed recent Nigeria–US security talks aimed at strengthening efforts to combat insurgency and other security threats.
“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,” the officer said.
Another senior military official explained that the delivery formed part of routine operational logistics, noting that ammunition replenishment is often required after military operations.
“I know that recently US aircraft came to supply ammunition for our platforms, and that wasn’t the first time. So what you are saying may be true, though I have not been officially briefed.
“We go for operations and use different calibres of ammunition, which need to be replaced. The US and the Nigerian government, under the coordination of the National Security Adviser, are working together to end insecurity in the country. So we should expect more deployments of aircraft and troops,” he added.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that US military aircraft landed in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Thursday night.
By Friday evening, three planes were reportedly seen at the base, with equipment being offloaded from one of them.
“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 was quoted as saying.
An X (formerly Twitter) account, @mobilisingniger, operated by a user who described himself as a counter-terrorism expert, also disclosed that a US Air Force C-130J military transport aircraft landed at the Kaduna International Airport after departing from Ghana.
The post suggested that the Kaduna Depot could serve as a potential training hub for US personnel deployed to train Nigerian troops.
In 2025, United States President, Donald Trump declared that he would send military forces to Nigeria if the government failed to address what he described as genocide against Christians.
Following that declaration and Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, the US reportedly carried out an airstrike targeting Islamic State fighters in Sokoto State on Christmas Day.
Defence authorities in Abuja have yet to issue an official statement on the recent aircraft landings, but military sources indicate that security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States is continuous.
