Nigeria Moves To Produce Armoured Vehicles And Anti-Drone Systems Locally

Nigeria is moving to set up local production lines for armoured vehicles, anti-drone systems and other military hardware under a Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria-D7G partnership.

The plan is tied to DICON-D7G’s work with Eagles International for Defence Systems and is meant to reduce dependence on imported equipment while bringing some manufacturing and technology transfer into Nigeria.

The update followed a two-day inspection tour of factories and military production facilities in Cairo by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and his delegation.

Osman Chennar, the chief executive officer of DICON-D7G, said the partnership would create more than 200 jobs and provide work opportunities for about 100 retired military personnel.

The equipment listed under the plan includes the Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicle BR6, armoured personnel carrier cabins, 120mm manual mortar launcher cabins, medical evacuation and ambulance cabins, MRAP-Buffalo armoured vehicles, the Rhino Guard GXR anti-drone and RPG-protected vehicle, the APC Moon PT6, the GXR Phantom light vehicle and the BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

The project gives the defence authorities a local-production test at a time when the military is still dealing with insurgency, banditry and other security threats that require steady supplies of specialised equipment.

Sources: Punch, Daily Trust