Foreign trade in domestic equipment reached a peak in the 1970s, and with the development of national strength with the economy as the focus, for a period of time the development of foreign trade was basically stagnant. With the development of a new round of domestic military construction, in the field of foreign trade we have a large number of brand new customers, including Southeast Asian countries, Africa, the Middle East and a large number of third world countries, the general equipment of China's foreign trade equipment has become a common situation. The African country of Nigeria has been more active in the field of military trade due to its rich oil resources, and at present, Nigeria's land, sea and air equipment have equipment from China, and the introduction of armored vehicles is at least dozens of starts.
According to media reports, Nigerian defense experts said that the country has been equipped with a large number of equipment from the "East", including land, sea and air, and Chinese-made weapons have a very strong competitiveness, and its advanced degree is very surprising. According to incomplete statistics, for the first time in history, 70% of Nigeria's armaments came from the East, overwhelming the weapons and equipment of Western countries with absolute superiority.
From the current point of view, the Nigerian Navy is equipped with P18N patrol boats, which is a 1800-ton offshore patrol boat, which nigeria orders from Wuhan Shipyard in 2021. There are two ships in this class, with a total value of $42 million. Judging from the appearance of the ship, it has a very obvious 056 style. The most important thing is that the 1800-tonnage guarantees a tarmac and a helicopter hangar that allows it to carry out patrols, search and rescue and law enforcement capabilities at sea, which is in line with Nigeria's purpose of protecting its offshore oil fields and gulf of Guinea routes. Among the many Western patrol boats owned by Nigeria, the P18N is also the most versatile of tonnage.
In the air force, Nigeria has previously been equipped with a domestic J-7 fighter, and has also used the aircraft to conduct air strikes against domestic armed forces. Nigeria itself has received 3 JF-17 fighters. According to a Press Release from the Pakistani side, the Nigerian Air Force will use the Dragon fighter jet to modernize its air force and meet security challenges. At present, the Nigerian Air Force will also introduce more JF-17s in stages, as they do not have enough funds to introduce one squadron at a time for the time being. And these dragons are said to have been produced in the Karam Aviation Complex in Pakistan.
As for ground equipment, Nigeria has purchased more armored vehicles. In 2014 alone, Nigeria announced a new batch of three new ground equipment procured domestically. This included the VT-4 main battle tank, the SH-2 vehicle-mounted howitzer, and the ST-1 wheeled assault gun. The equipment was then performed at the loading site in Nigeria, showing the strength of these equipment. Just from the VT-4 tank as the third generation mainstream model, it is enough to ensure that Nigeria's ground armored forces are in the lead in the whole of Africa. And the ST-1 assault gun is also another main assault unit after the Norinco WMA301 assault gun, which is a very good mobile assault firepower for Nigerian ground forces that frequently fight with armed forces.
There was also recent video showing the Nigerian Army receiving a batch of 60 Type 89 armored transport vehicles in August, which are currently being deployed to the front lines against Nepal's internal armed forces. The Type 89 is also a star equipment in China, with a large number of equipment, characterized by a protective weapon turret on the hull. Although the Type 89 has been lost at home, it is still very popular in Nigeria, which helps to quickly form Nigeria's own mechanized troops.
In addition to the competitive cost performance of Chinese equipment, another reason for the large use of Chinese equipment in Nigeria is that Western equipment is often attached with complex political conditions, and the delivery process may also change due to the country's domestic conditions. This is also the reason why the arms trade relationship between Nigeria and the West that has been maintained for many years is shrinking.
Of course, domestic equipment foreign trade is still mainly concentrated on ground equipment, limited by the customer's purchasing power, high-end fighter foreign trade has not been much development, this aspect depends on whether FC31 and J-10CE can open sales. On the other hand, with the continuous development of third world countries and the increase of their own economic strength, there will also be a certain demand and purchasing capacity for high-end equipment, and the potential for foreign trade of domestic equipment is still very large.