The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to modernising the Armed Forces through strategic partnerships, local capacity development, technology transfer and sustainable defence industrial cooperation.
The Honourable Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa, made this known 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.
A statement issued by Enderline Chukwu, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations, said the minister and his delegation held extensive discussions with MARSS UK Ltd and its Nigerian partner, MPS Mikopowers Ltd, focusing on strengthening Nigeria’s national defence architecture through advanced command, control, surveillance and integrated security technologies.
According to the statement, the visit featured practical demonstrations, technical engagements and strategic discussions centred on improving Nigeria’s intelligence and security response capabilities.
Musa stressed the need to build indigenous operational capacity while leveraging international expertise to tackle emerging security threats such as terrorism, border insecurity, illegal mining, piracy and the increasing threat posed by 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,” the minister stated.
During the engagements, the Nigerian delegation observed live demonstrations of radar detection systems, artificial intelligence-enabled threat identification, drone interception technologies and integrated national command and control solutions.
The sessions also covered proposals for the establishment of national and regional command centres, mobile response units and a Centre of Excellence dedicated to simulation, training and doctrine development.
Officials of MARSS UK Ltd and MPS Mikopowers Ltd also showcased the NiDAR integrated command and control system, anti-drone technologies, mobile surveillance platforms and border security solutions designed to strengthen Nigeria’s defence and security operations.
The Ministry said the engagements are expected to enhance inter-agency coordination, improve national security operations and accelerate Nigeria’s defence modernisation objectives as part of broader defence diplomacy and strategic engagement initiatives aimed at promoting regional stability and operational effectiveness.
