ADF

ADF STAFF Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will launch an affiliate, Pratt & Whitney Maroc, in Casablanca, Morocco, to manufacture engine parts. The U.S.-based company said the goal is to “develop cost-effective sourcing capabilities for competitiveness and to optimise operations footprint and asset utilization,” according to defenceWeb. The company selected Morocco “due to its growing hub of aerospace companies, cost of business and trained, available talent.” The company said the new plant would create 200 jobs by 2030. It will be built in Casablanca’s Aerospace Focused Free Zone, an industrial park specifically targeting aerospace production systems. The free zone was…

ADF STAFF A new tool uses artificial intelligence to monitor and forecast flooding around the world.  Twenty-three African countries are participating in Google’s Flood Hub artificial intelligence platform. Google launched the platform in 2021, and it expanded to include 80 countries in 2023. It is designed to help disaster management agencies evacuate people up to a week before floodwaters hit and strengthen flood prevention measures in some of the continent’s most at-risk areas. “Governments, aid organisations, and individuals can use Flood Hub to take timely action and prepare for riverine floods, seeing locally relevant flood data and forecasts up to seven…

REUTERS In an effort to stop poachers and others who poison wildlife, Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife is turning to an unlikely ally: vultures.  Park rangers at Kafue National Park tag white-backed and hooded vultures with satellite trackers to alert wildlife managers of poached or poisoned carcasses. In many parts of Africa, livestock owners poison cow carcasses with an agricultural pesticide to kill the predator cats that come to feast. This is viewed as a way to stop lions from attacking their cattle.  But the carcasses also attract the critically endangered white-backed vultures, whose population has declined by more…

DEFENCEWEB A study by a researcher at Stellenbosch University found that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is vulnerable to cyberattacks and must increase cybersecurity awareness among military officers, offer appropriate training and buy the required technology.  “Military officers are vulnerable to being misled or even forced by nefarious online actors to share sensitive information about operational activities,” said Dr. Kyle Bester, a research psychologist and cybersecurity awareness training specialist who conducted the study for his thesis at Stellenbosch. “They could also create involuntary or voluntary points of access for malicious software through which these actors could enter the…

ADF STAFF Nigeria opened two new facilities that will be the nerve center of its fight against terrorism.  In a March 2023 ceremony near the end of his presidential term, then-President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the new Office of the National Security Adviser and National Counter Terrorism Centre in Abuja. Buhari said the state-of-the-art facilities will provide Nigeria’s incoming administration with infrastructure to effectively coordinate national security and counterterrorism efforts.  The facilities include office space, team rooms, laboratories, a conference hall, an auditorium and an operations/crisis center. Nigeria has been plagued by violent extremism, particularly in the northeast, for 14 years,…

Voice of America Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency seized two illicit shipments of military hardware and explosive material that were bound for al-Shabaab. At a news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia’s then- State Minister of Defence Mohamed Ali Haga said the agency discovered the arms at Mogadishu’s port and airport, in some cases hidden within containers that appeared to be authorized imports.  The intelligence agency said an investigation relating to the illicit shipments led to the arrest of 10 people associated with a smuggling network. “Our agency has been following the activities of these individuals in Somalia and outside Somalia,”…

CYRUS OMBATI, THE STAR Kenya has nearly fulfilled one of its commitments to regional and international treaties on arms control as it nears completion of marking official firearms and ammunition.  The National Police Service has marked 98% of its firearms stock, and the Kenya Defence Forces is at 70%. Security Principal Administrative Secretary Wilson Njega called the progress a huge milestone that sets Kenya on the path to the elite league of nations that have taken concrete steps to combat the illegal arms trade. The goal, he said, is to prevent weapons from being diverted to criminals while not disrupting…

DEFENCEWEB A peacekeeping study shows that in 2022, there were more multilateral peace operations conducted than in any year during the previous decade. The report also says that the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has become “a major source of difficulty” because of its ties to the Russian government and its “implication in human rights abuse.” The study, compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, was released in June 2023. As in previous years, the United Nations led the largest number of multilateral peace operations with 20, including special political missions. Regional organizations and alliances conducted an additional 38 operations,…

UNITED NATIONS Since 1948, more than 2 million uniformed and civilian personnel have served in United Nations field missions across the world. Their contributions were highlighted on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, observed on May 29, 2023. “United Nations peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the day. He called for continued support for the men and women who help countries transition from war to peace. “They are also critical to the protection of civilians caught up in the chaos of these deadly conflicts,…

ADF STAFF The United Nations has awarded its U.N. Training Recognition certification to the Ghana Army Peace Operations Training School. The school was awarded the certificate after a vigorous assessment of the training materials of the facility and a four-day onsite visit by the U.N. Training Assessment team, the Ghana Peace Journal reported. The school, which is at the Bundase Training Camp near Accra, was established in June 2021 to train troops for peace support operations. Since then it has trained men and women for support operations in the subregion and other parts of the world. Presenting the certificate, Maj.…