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Nigeria has unveiled its new fighter jets and helicopter as part of its arsenal in the fight against Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Crushing Boko Haram was among President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledges during his campaigns, and the army has made tremendous progress in that fight. Even so however, the militants continue to launch strikes especially in the northeastern region of the country.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was planning to sell up to 12 light attack aircrafts to Nigeria to support its fight against Boko Haram.

The unveiling of the fighter jets was praised by a former vice-marshal of the Nigerian air force, saying it would take the unit back to its famed heights.

“I am very happy that the Nigerian Air Force has come back, or is coming to where it was several years ago, because there was a time there was a low, performance low, everything dropped. So what we are seeing today, we are highly impressed and knowing that this air force is now on the rise again,” O.C. Obierika, retired vice-marshal of the Nigerian Air Force said.

For more than a decade, Boko Haram has launched attacks in West Africa in attempts to enforce a strict Islamist rule in the region.

In its quest, the militant group has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced over two million people.

In one of its most deadly raids in Nigeria, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in April 2014, shocking the entire world. While some girls have been rescued or freed, most remain in captivity, yet to rejoin their families.