ADF

Nigerian military engineers returned a twin-engine turboprop Dornier DO-228 to the air after it had been grounded for 23 years.  Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, Nigeria’s chief of air staff, commended the efforts of five engineers and 40 technicians who worked for four months on the project. “It is not just an operational gain, it is a testament to the Nigerian Air Force’s (NAF) commitment to self-reliance and resource optimization,” he said.  The plane previously was operated by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and had remained unused at a facility in Kaduna since 2001. The NAF now plans to…

The Economic Community of West African States has observed its 50th anniversary as one of the continent’s most successful economic blocs and a major force in regional cooperation and peacekeeping. The community, known as ECOWAS, observed its anniversary in mid-2025. Sixteen member states established it in 1975.  Within three years of its founding, the bloc’s mandates were expanded to encompass political and security objectives. These additions were necessary as West African countries adapted to shifting socioeconomic and security challenges, which have come to include terrorism threats.  “We are confronting the greatest challenges we face today, terrorism, climate change and unconstitutional…

After a meeting in Tanzania, the African Union Council has recommended improving relations with regional economic communities, strengthening its prevention mechanisms and refining its mediation tools. The council focused on promoting and defending AU shared values and established instruments for guaranteeing continental peace, security and stability. The three-day session in Arusha included orientation for new members of the Peace and Security Council. Nigerian Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, AU commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, emphasized the philosophy of “African solutions to African problems,” underscoring the council’s pivotal role in advancing the AU’s peace agenda. The council also discussed Agenda 2063,…

The 2026 African Air Chiefs Symposium will include a live-fly exercise, a first for the intracontinental organization. In past years, the symposium has been limited to indoor “tabletop” demonstrations. A live-fly exercise is a real-time, full-scale training event designed to simulate combat scenarios and refine aircrew readiness. Such exercises involve flying aircraft in real-world conditions, often involving multiple nations and simulating various operational challenges. The chiefs of Africa’s air forces made the decision during their 2025 meeting in Zambia. Co-hosted by the Zambia Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa, the 2025 event saw more than 240 participants…

Simon’s Town, home port to the South African Navy submarine component, has hosted the first joint operational sea training for underwater craft with India. The two-week training session included collaboration in establishing what South African Chief Petty Officer Nkululeko Zulu termed a “block training programme,” according to defenceWeb. It was designed to test and evaluate the operational readiness of submarine platforms in service with both navies. “The collaboration between the Indian and [South African] Navy for work-up of ships and submariners has shown immense progress in the last two years,” Indian Rear Adm. Srinivas Maddula told Sailors after training, defenceWeb…

It was almost inevitable that Phoenician settlers would establish a trade center more than 2,200 years ago in what is now the Tunisian port city of Tunis. The Phoenicians named it Carthage, which means “new town.” It juts into the central part of the Mediterranean Sea, and its sailing access to ports along the European and African coasts made it critical to trade routes. It also made Rome and Carthage competitors in a rivalry that lasted for centuries. The Phoenicians, from what is now Lebanon, chose their maritime colonies carefully, focusing on the quality of their harbors and how well…

CLUES This area is considered the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush. The site includes pyramids, temples, palaces and industrial areas. The architecture reflects Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan African influences through what was a major trade corridor. Though not an island, its name comes from its proximity to the confluence of the Atbara, Blue Nile and White Nile rivers. ANSWER  The Island of Meroe, Sudan

With one tap of a torch, Kenyan President William Ruto set ablaze a huge stockpile of firearms at the National Police Leadership Academy in Ngong on June 13. The weapons were either surrendered under amnesty programs or seized in security operations. The event also marked the 20th anniversary of the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons, a United Nations-funded partner organization that coordinates disarmament efforts across 15 countries in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa regions. A leader in small arms and light weapons (SALW) control on the continent, Kenya has disposed of nearly 40,000 illegal firearms…

At Uganda’s border crossings with Kenya and Tanzania, every vehicle entering the country gets fitted with a new license plate that lets the government track it and monitor the driver’s activity. The foreign vehicles join tens of thousands of Ugandan cars, trucks and motorcycles that have been outfitted since January with so-called digital license plates under a 10-year contract the government signed in 2023 with Russia-based Joint Stock Company Global Security. The Russian company controls the system, known as Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), and gets paid through hefty fees for each license plate and equally heavy fines levied against…

From Burkina Faso to Sudan, drones have gained an ever-increasing role in conflicts, evolving from reconnaissance tools to nearly unstoppable airborne explosives. Now, experts worry, those same conflicts might become the testing ground for autonomous drones programmed to attack targets without human input. Some argue that the continent already has seen its first killing by an autonomous drone. That was in 2020 in Libya, when a Turkish-made STM Kargu-2 equipped with facial recognition software pursued and killed forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. A United Nations investigation found inconclusive evidence that the drone, while capable of acting autonomously, actually…