Niger's new C-130H (right) next to the one that was returned after refurbishment in January. (US Air Force )
The Nigerien Air Force received a second US-supported C-130H transport aircraft during a ceremony held at Niamey's Air Base 101 on 7 December.
US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) released a statement clarifying that the aircraft is the second of three C-130s that the United States is helping Niger to fund.
When the first was handed over in January, it was revealed to be 5U-MBH, which was the only C-130H that remained in Nigerien service after the other crashed in 1997.
When a new C-130 hangar was opened at Air Base 201 in Agadez in February 2020, US Africa Command said it was for two C-130s that the Nigerien Air Force had recently purchased.
The photographs that USAFE-AFAFRICA released of the second aircraft showed it had received various US Air Force upgrades, including a missile warning system, that may have been removed before it was delivered to Niger.
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