(SINL NIGERIA) The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to modernising Nigeria’s Armed Forces through strategic international partnerships, local capacity development and advanced defence technology integration.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa, during a working visit to Monaco alongside senior ministry officials as part of ongoing engagements on the proposed Multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence Shield (HIS) project for the Ministry of Defence.
The Minister said the initiative is being pursued in collaboration with MARSS UK Ltd and its Nigerian partner, MPS Mikopowers Ltd, with a focus on strengthening Nigeria’s defence architecture through advanced command, control, surveillance and integrated security technologies.
According to him, the Federal Government is prioritising the development of indigenous operational capacity while leveraging global expertise to tackle emerging security threats such as terrorism, border insecurity, illegal mining, piracy and the increasing use of unmanned aerial systems.
“The Ministry is the strategic brain of the nation’s defence architecture. We must therefore leverage technology for intelligence, surveillance and recurring service. We have partners and allies ready to support us. We will reach out to them to work as a team,” Musa stated.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation witnessed live demonstrations of radar detection systems, artificial intelligence-enabled threat identification, drone interception technologies and integrated national command and control solutions.
Discussions also centred on the proposed establishment of national and regional command centres, mobile response units as well as a Centre of Excellence for simulation, training and doctrine development.
The visit further provided an opportunity for strategic discussions on defence industry collaboration, technology transfer, local production support and long-term partnerships between Nigerian defence institutions and international stakeholders.
Officials of MARSS UK Ltd and MPS Mikopowers Ltd received the delegation and conducted detailed presentations on the NiDAR integrated command and control system, anti-drone technologies, mobile surveillance platforms and border security solutions.
The Ministry noted that the engagements are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s efforts toward enhancing national security, improving inter-agency coordination and advancing defence modernisation objectives as part of broader defence diplomacy and strategic engagement initiatives.
