Increasing U.S. Military Flight Activity over Nigeria Draws Global Attention
Abuja, Nigeria – December 23, 2025
Since late November 2025, flight tracking data and multiple official sources indicate that United States-linked surveillance aircraft have been conducting regular missions over large parts of Nigerian airspace.
The activity follows heightened tensions after U.S. political leaders threatened military intervention as a response to reported violence targeting Christian communities in Nigeria by Islamic Fulani terrorists.
According to flight tracking records and assessments by aviation analysts, at least one Gulfstream V aircraft, operated by U.S. contractor Tenax Aerospace, has been flying near-daily missions over Nigeria since late November 2025.
The data show the aircraft typically departing from an airbase in Ghana, most often Accra, entering Nigerian airspace for surveillance, and then returning to Ghana.
Tenax Aerospace, headquartered in Mississippi, offers special mission aircraft services and has longstanding contracts with U.S. defence structures, suggesting these flights are part of a broader intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operation.
Earlier tracking information places the aircraft at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in early November before repositioning to West Africa later that month, consistent with reports that U.S. military assets were redeployed to Ghana following high-level security dialogues with Nigerian officials.
While flight tracking and anonymous sources confirm the aerial activity, the Pentagon has issued only limited commentary.
In a brief official statement, the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledged productive meetings with Nigerian government representatives, but refused to discuss the presence or operations of U.S. aircraft or intelligence assets in the region.
One former U.S. official, speaking anonymously, confirmed to Reuters that the aircraft belongs to a cadre of assets moved to Ghana to support regional security efforts. However, specifics about mission goals remain undisclosed due to diplomatic sensitivities.
These monitoring flights occur against a backdrop of U.S. political pressure on Nigeria. In November, U.S. leaders publicly raised the possibility of military intervention if Nigerian authorities failed to address violence against Christian communities, an allegation hotly contested by Abuja.
Nigeria’s federal government has denied that the conflict constitutes targeted religious genocide, insisting that violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP attack Muslim and Christian communities alike claiming that the nation’s security environment is complex and multifaceted.
Separately, diplomatic engagements have prompted bipartisan security cooperation, including promises to strengthen counterterrorism efforts and information sharing.
Joint task forces and intelligence operations are said to be reportedly under development to support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnappings.
The situation also reflects wider shifts in West African security cooperation. After Niger ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in favour of alternative partners, Washington is understood to be expanding ISR capacity in the region, in part to track Fulani terrorist networks and support rescue efforts for kidnapped U.S. citizens in neighbouring countries.
The deployment of U.S. surveillance flights has drawn international reactions. Some analysts view enhanced aerial monitoring as a positive step in bolstering cooperation against violent extremism.
Many Nigerians appear increasingly animated by the prospect of a U.S. military intervention, with some openly urging Washington to act swiftly in what they describe as a decisive campaign against Fulani-linked terrorism.
